Special Kind of Air

It hit me in the skyway, that special kind of air.
It’s thicker air; the kind where lives hang in the balance.
Some lives coming into the world, some going out.
I can smell the hospital air.

Not that I haven’t walked this skyway before
And breathed my fair share of hospital air.
Today I’m going to see a life that is coming;
Someday I’ll be coming to see a life that is going.
It feels so real, and the air is heavy.

Families sit waiting for news.
Good news? Bad news?
Does their air change when they
Hope for the best, but hear the worst?
Fear the worst, but receive the best?
I pick up my pace as my lungs fill with
Air that makes my heart beat faster.

A deep breath before I enter her room;
Holding back tears,
Then holding her.
Her heart beating fast,
A baby breathing
A special kind of air.