My hands, smaller then
than the doorknob.
The one that turned silently
pushing into his room;

white and tasteless,
bed staked to the centre,
caged by wires and lights.

The room, bigger now.
My lungs airless and loud.
Every step like walking barefoot
on a sea of stone.

Exhale to the rhythm of machinery,
his chest falling too far to believe
that it will ever rise again.

…

Jamel Hall is a writer, curator, event organizer and freelance everything else living and working in Kingston, Jamaica. His poetry focuses on the small, complex yet common stories that make up human existence. His poem Clash will be published by Uk Journal Ink Sweat and Tears on October 13, 2018.