The Last Night

you almost took my life
that dreaded night.
i let you with that knife
it was quite a sight,
all the blood flowing down,
turning impure the snow on the ground.
my arm wide open, gashed layers wide,
out in the bitter cold night,
my arm hanging limp by my side.
gripping the blade ever so tight,
clinging for my dear life,
clinging to the security of that knife.
as i watched the life juice flow away,
too scared to get help right then, in shock,
i knew then that i was not okay,
i knew then that i desperately needed a doc.
and then the fear that kept me there, drove me to get aid,
and to the hospital in haste i made.
that night was clearly not my last,
but it was as close as i have ever been to death,
the bloodletting is now of the past.
i am not yet ready to take my final breath.
and so the scars are what remind me of that day,
and remind me that the cutting is not the way.