More Perspective Poem by Jim Yerman

I found out recently my body is making too many red blood cells
and although this news…I didn't love it
It only means, every now and then, when it comes to my blood…
the doctor takes some of it.

So I'm in the doctor's office as the doctor's needle begins to take hold…
And I'm feeling a little sorry for myself…wondering…when did I get so old.

Then I look around the room I'm in and what should I happen to see
But 3 other men with needles in their arms…sitting next to me.

Only they weren't having blood drawn…although stuck with a needle just like me
they were in for cancer treatments…hooked up to IV's.

The man across from me was sleeping
the man in the corner was trying to find a way
to get comfortable. "Because", he said,
"I'll be her most of the day."

When I smiled at the man sitting on my left he said, "It's not as bad as it appears."
"It's something you get used to…I've been coming here 10 years.

I finished quickly and as I was leaving a man using a walker, barely clinging to life
struggled to walk in on his own…followed by his wife.

As I looked back I heard the wife say, "he's cold"
and as the nurse pulled a blanket off the shelf
I felt a little ashamed…for feeling sorry for myself.

It's true when I first sat down so they could take my blood
I was feeling a little blue…
but a little change of perspective
quickly changed my point of view.

As once again I was reminded
how life is a continuous quest
and I should think less about my troubles
and more about how I'm blessed.