My apnea upends my wife’s dreams.
Loud, German guttural sounds of snoring
abruptly halt and she wakes to wait.
Her breathing deepens with her anxiety.
My dreams continue, although I know not.
Maybe I am at the lake with the kids
pretending to be a sturgeon weaving
low and without a wake.
Maybe I am driving through Gary Indiana
while it sleeps under absent stars.
Maybe I am in New Delhi walking with a slum-dog
to his bedroom in the wastelands.
Maybe I am back with my drug delusional father
dying of emphysema and I didn’t walk out.
Maybe God took my breath away to take me
to secret places beyond this nightly death.
My airways open again and deep draughts
stretch the two life-giving sacks.
My wife is once again lulled to sleep
by my edgy bilingual breathing.
© Gerald Allen Barrett and parentheticallyspeakingin3d, 2012.
Gerald the Writer 
words infused with a rich, juxtaposed nature. *love
nicely penned. I especially like – Maybe God took my breath away to take me
to secret places beyond this nightly death
and that last line is great!
Powerful writing Jer, but I know from experience you better get that checked, or the Lord will call you home early!
message received. you are not the only one to mention it. thanks.
Great job, Jerry! I especially liked “bilingual breathing!”