The Kabul Night...

I was in the darkest of my days
lost and lonely
adrift within my bed.

Full was the moon.

The snow…
Iridescent.

This was another Kabul night.

The gas heater hardly kept me warm as I slept
Shivering as I was in the merciless winter cold
I was in a deep dreamless sleep
when death knocked upon my door.

Poison began to fill my lungs.
I was breathing heavy and sinking deep
drugged and dragged by death’s steely touch.

It could have been a painless end
but something happened that very instant
Was it a voice that called my name?
Was it a hand that shook me up?

My head was numb as I opened my eyes
The walls spun in the moon light
My throat was dry
I choked and coughed
I could not shout for help.

I felt like sliding into an abysmal hole
Did I wake up only to see it end?

My thoughts failed as I raised my face
to receive the final fateful punch
when suddenly a voice screamed inside my head
"run, Run, Run"....

And I ran.

I opened my door
dashed down the stairs
and all I remember was knocking on a door.

A day later
when I came around
I was pale and alive in a hospital bed.

Whenever I think of that fateful night
I remember the hand
I remember the voice
I thank the One who watched over me
Even in the darkest of my days.
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[This was a real life - near death experience I had in December 2004. I was in Kabul , Afghanistan after the war - Long time readers of this blog will remember... Those were dark days without electricity and we had to depend on Propane Gas heaters as temperatures dropped below zero. One fateful night, my heater leaked and the poisonous gas filled the room. Usually, it's a slow death for a sleeping person. But miraculously I managed to wake up and run out before I collapsed in front of another inmates door. I was rushed to the army hospital and rescued.]