I was half awake
trying to close my eyes
as the scalpel knife descended
I jerked
the cut the spurting blood
the anesthesiologist’s cry
“He’s not out yet!”
the sudden rush of hands

and I imaginedly woke up
from my bad imagined dream
into the real
to find the operation over
“Good job”
the surgeon said
it’s Kaiser after all
the doctors good
surgeons maybe best
my life safe in their hands

and all of this above
was merely speculation
there was no nightmare
of what it might have been
and didn’t happen
and how glad I am
that imagination
isn’t always real