hospitals reek of death
that they mask in latex
bathe in anesthetic
and deep fry
under yellow fluorescent lights.
nurses smile like sugar
and their teeth rot before your eyes
their skin ages years in one minute
and you face death again and again
in the face of everyone your eyes rest on
so you don't rest
you read a book
and the pages turn yellow
then disintegrate under your fingers
and your phone screen burns your eyes
like hellfire
the miniature television is playing a movie
it's supposed to be funny
but the laughs turn to screams in your ears
and the voices cry,
"cancer"
so you stare at the wall
blue wallpaper fades to yellow,
painted flowers become invisible
specks of peeling plaster
and outside the windows
overlooking the city
busybodies turn to zombies,
cars to graveyards,
and roads to cracking debris
