A Fearful Patient Poem by Richard Lackman

I saw that she was crying as I entered through the door
Alone, afraid and worried about what she might endure
Her pain had come on slowly until recently but then
Had suddenly increased until she thought it was a 10

She felt that she was dying and a cripple she would be
A wheelchair in an old folk's home was all that she could see
She was so frail and so upset she found it hard to speak
She was not easy to console her outlook was so bleak

I sat beside her, held her hand and looked her in the eye
I listened quite intently so she knew she could rely
Upon my strict attention to her story and her plight
As she realized together we could work to make things right

Only when her discourse ended did I start to speak
Explaining diagnoses which I knew that we should seek
So by this time her confidence and hopefulness I gained
And watched as prior fear and dread had from her quickly drained

Indeed she had a cancer that was treatable and so
We started on a treatment plan and watched her spirits grow
Now several years since I first saw her she is still alive
And grateful for her time on Earth and all she can derive