After

After the echoes
of the sleek white floors

the disinfected smells
and the semi-rhythmic beeps

have melted in a blur of sliding glass

and you are standing on the sidewalk

blinking at the snap-dragons
pebbles
and decorative grasses

around a round-a-bout
where a car is waiting

for you

although (like grief)

spring comes and goes
too soon

you cannot help
but start to feel
that you

might after all

be something that's alive.