the smell of peroxide burns into my lungs
as soon as i step through the revolving doors
entering an unknown room full of unfamiliar faces
a woman bawls while a baby cries
men in white coats rush down the long stretch
lined with many doors along both sides of the blanched walls
i follow a woman with beige hair and pasty scrubs
down the fluorescent tunnel
until we come to the only open entryway

a motionless man lies under indigo sheets
with a mask covering his mouth
clear liquid drips through a tube
while neon lines pulsate on a screen
the rusty fan spits out warm air
that reeks of bleach

and without a warning
the monitor begins beeping uncontrollably
and in a blur i am whisked away