I was told I would sleep for two or three hours
But reports aver that in the event it was more like six
Not that it makes or made any difference
Sleep hardly identifies that interval of nothingness

With the application of the anesthetic
I thought as clearly as if speaking aloud
If this be death so be it
Sometimes they don’t wake up

Did I experience a passage of time
The onset virtually instantaneous
But the endgame gradual and slow
In and out of torpid semi-consciousness

The world seemed alive with urgency
That I must wake up
That I must emerge from
Not darkness but no presence anywhere