Last Rites

I found my religion flying
down a pothole filled road
in the back of an ambulance
pounding on a dead man’s chest,
while I prayed that his heart would
start again

It didn’t.

I still go to church every time I
lose a patient. I don’t know
if I believe in God,
I just don’t know how else to
say goodbye.

I’ve never had much faith
in anything but
the fact that the world
is full of people
crashing into
other people

with little regard to consequences
of their actions
and the results
of their decisions
sending out ripples
turning into tidal waves.

But when it all goes
from bad to tragic
someone like me will be there,
to whisper last rites
over broken bones
and lost futures.

By Levon Hill

Biography:

Levon Hill is a public servant and former Paramedic currently living in New England and working in healthcare system reform.