Richard Lackman - Almost Cancer

Today I met a man who thought that he was truly dying
This brush with his mortality had left him lost and crying
He never really understood how fragile life can be
And now his hopes and desperation focused square on me

I had a kindly conversation with him and his wife
I guaranteed that I would do my best to save his life
I reassured him that this tumor might still be benign
If not we hoped that we had caught it in the nick of time

Next day I gave him his good news that it was nothing bad
He and his wife were quite relieved and yet they both seemed sad
They looked back at their lives and saw so many wasted years
They smoked too much and drank too much and cried too many tears

That day that he thought he was gone was really quite a gift
It made him see that up ‘til then his life was just adrift
Although I never had to work a wonder with a knife
That day was not forgotten and in fact it saved his life.

Richard Lackman

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/almost-cancer/