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The ICU Hotel

I had a great night
the night my mother called me home to the ICU hotel
I had just finished performing 7 pieces out loud
and after applause and cheers
a telephone call presents
my formal invitation
to the ICU hotel
on the way
I was provided with in-flight entertainment
room temperature water and finger nails bitten down to the quick
our room had a whiteboard with our family name scribbled across the front
4 light blue walls
a staticky TV
3 chairs and 2 worn leather couches
to accommodate our family of 12
in the ICU hotel
A note from the maid
ATTENTION FAMILY MEMBERS
this is a family crisis room!
to be used short term
the ICU hotel is praised for its cleanliness and sanitation
in fact, you can't even enter a room without washing your hands
my mother doesn't care for the smell of the hotel
she says it smells like despair
enter family members
through the darkest corridor of the ICU hotel
into a large room with glass doors
buzzing and beeping
the low whirring of the ventilator
the uniform clicking of the dialysis machine
bags and bags of fluid
are just a few of the ICU hotels
more prestigious decorations
in the middle of it all
I see the man who raised me
my first thought is to save him
from all of the tubes invading his body
I think of them as worms trying to eat him
but stop myself from ripping them out one by one
frightened by the very thing that gives him life
my step father is on life support
and checked into the ICU hotel
are me and mother
lying awake on 2 dingy couches
praying for a miracle