The Day I Died

What is described here happened in a dream I had some years ago.

 

So the night was young and my spirits high,
we met at O’Connell’s, some mates and I.
Talking `bout life, love and death,
past times and the future ahead.

Paul was there and Ciaran too, Fart and all the boys
the mood was great, the Stout was flowing, the hours just flew by.

The night was late, my head weighed a ton,
I was tired and didn’t feel well.
Lads, I‘ll just go get some air …
The full moon shone brightly over the backyard in Dublin.

I took in deep breaths of crisp night air.
Gazed at dustbins, a cat, a crumbling wall.
The moonlight cast shadows that seemed quite unreal.
A bang! A jolt like an electric shock,
right through my stomach, through my guts.

No pain, just wondering: What on earth?
My hand feels a wound, my fingers black with nocturnal blood.

He wasn’t after me, just a drunken fool…
Played with his gun, and then it went off.
I look up at the sky, at the stars above.
And that’s it now, the end of me?

My sight is fading, everything turns black.
All black.