for the first time in my life
there wasn’t a line in the post office
just one guy at the counter
that I had to wait on
this wouldn’t be bad
I’ll be in and out
he was asking questions
about the price of shipping
something to Canada
he seemed upset
with the employees response
jesus, I thought
this may take awhile
he had a cane
but didn’t look much older than I
he hung his cane on the counter
and was confused by packaging materials
I looked at his leg
he was wearing shorts
then I saw it
a small drip of blood
drip turned to a heavier drop
it trickled down his leg
soaking into his sock
I looked around
I was still the only other person there
how could he not feel that
then another trickle ran down
then another
another
another
his sock was completely red
and filled like an overflowing
sponge
then I saw bubbles
come out of the sole of his shoe
blood leaked out of there
and it bubbled
making noises
surely if he couldn’t feel the wetness
of the blood
he would be able to hear the bubbles
popping continuously
but he was still trying to find the
difference between priority shipping
and first class
the puddle was growing
getting closer to my feet
in flip flops
I paced back and forth
and first I thought
the puddle was following me
but it was growing at such great speed
I could be anywhere in the lobby
and that pool would’ve found me
I made little noises
hoping to get their attention
how do they not know this is happening
I jumped up on a table on the other side
of the lobby
where you fill out your forms
how can that guy
stand
breathe
not pass out
with all that blood missing from his body?
he decided that he wouldn’t ship his
package that day
turned and slipped just a step from the door
gravity pulled him towards Earth
so quickly
I thought he would go through the Earth
instead of just crashing on it
I didn’t get down
the employee and I
stared at each other
neither of us
rushing to help the man
that was doing the backstroke
in his own blood
