The Unbearable Lightness of Being

"Bad News", a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

feet not firmly
on the ground
swing like a
small child's
waiting for the doctor
after a routine
check up

he appears brusquely
lab results in hand
a part of
my anatomy
has decided
to change
into something else

not only that
but has decided
to do it
at a hectic pace
that I'm told
is unhealthy
and unsustainable

feet not firmly
on the ground
stop swinging
the small child
of infinite days
snuffed out
the doctor asks

"Are you OK?
You look pale."
I have the aching
feeling of wanting
to see my wife
and kids as soon
as humanly possible

more tests are
going to be
necessary he says
I wander out
of the office
feet still not firmly
on the ground
______________________

Just to clarify, I do not have cancer.  This is a photo I took of myself at the doctor's office while waiting to get my flu shot this past week.  But after downloading it and looking at it more closely a deep feeling of melancholy was triggered and I was reminded of two recent deaths of men my age who have faced such a terrible thing.