When the Lights Came On

I.
Didn't occur to me that the dashboard
should have lights-
until I got lost
Driving at night,
got used to squinting under
streetlights,
guessing at the speedometer

It's funny what the mind can adapt to

But when the truck died
and a friendly jump sparked the engine,
the possibility of lights
suddenly loomed into view

It was a button, you see
Just to the left
Small and insignificant to the immediate eye
It needed a slight turn

In the sudden illumination,
moving forward was that much easier

 II.
The white halls are dark,
a white so clinical it permeates the bones faster
than eyes adjust
Overhead,
broken lights stab into the black,
accusing fingers pointing down
at a stranger creeping forward
Each turn shivers the spine more and more
Until the end,
on the last turn,
rounding the final bend to find a corner awash in light,
with a simple, black coffin

It is my coffin
It is waiting for me