After

I can't tell you how good it feels

Not to piss into a jug

Or feel plastic nozzles in my nostrils

Or feel the needle embedded in my forearm

Or hear the chirp of the monitor every time I move

Or the shriek of the alarm when I shift my weight in the bed

Or to wake up every two hours to have my blood pressure taken

Or....

But now at home and alone I pause

And listen to my heart

How we doing?