Scream

Carpe Diem #669, Scream

Credits: The Scream Edvard Munch

An explanation of the famous painting by the artist:

I was walking along the road with two friends 
the sun was setting 
suddenly the sky turned blood red
I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence 
there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city
my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety 
and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

© Edvard Munch


It is rather amazing how many different sorts of screams there are in life.  There is the soil yourself scream from a sudden startle.  You have experienced that moment with a nearby thunder clap or sudden loud noise.  There is the scream of a parent as a child is in danger.  The screams of people on roller coasters are fodder for the funniest moments type videos.  Screams of joy as a favorite sports person or team makes an outstanding performance.  And there are other screams.

They were preparing for a short vacation to Hot Springs to watch the last of the horse races.  He had a slight cough and was not quite feeling up to par.  At the previously scheduled visit to his urologist an aside comment cancelled the vacation plans.  Instead there were x-rays and more immediate visits to the gp scheduled for three days later.  Over the weekend the husband begins coughing up tiny amounts of blood.
After a CAT scan on the fourth day they found themselves in an emergency room.  Almost immediately admitted to the hospital due to the 'enormous saddle clot' in the left lung .

Something going in the lower lobe of the right lung was thought to be pneumonia though no test would confirm that diagnosis.  Friday morning a sharp pain surged through his right side.  More CAT scans as his loud moans filled the room and halls.  The pneumonia appeared to have spread according to the confident very young intern.  "All looks good otherwise and he should be able to go home by Saturday afternoon".  Night found only the wife, husband, nurses and pinging machines in the room.  Then ..............

glazed eyes, no breath
waves of fear wash over her
screams for lost love

©  Janice Adcock

Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for daily prompts on 

CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI