Leaving
the hospital grounds a
rose
splashed vermillion in
my face

I wiped my eyes
in disbelief

after

driving a stabbed
Brother
to the emergency
entrance

he kept apologizing for
bleeding
on the seat covers of the
car
and me as I helped him
onto
the stainless steel cart

that night lying in bed
next to the
wall
the image
on the cross looked
down
while a drop of
blood
from the nailed foot
fell
on my eyes though

I could not move a
hand to wipe away

what
I would
drink
at Mass in the
morning