He said it doesn't look good <br />he said it looks bad in fact real bad <br />he said I counted thirty-two of them on one lung before <br />I quit counting them <br />I said I'm glad I wouldn't want to know <br />about any more being there than that <br />he said are you a religious man do you kneel down <br />in forest groves and let yourself ask for help <br />when you come to a waterfall <br />mist blowing against your face and arms <br />do you stop and ask for understanding at those moments <br />I said not yet but I intend to start today <br />he said I'm real sorry he said <br />I wish I had some other kind of news to give you <br />I said Amen and he said something else <br />I didn't catch and not knowing what else to do <br />and not wanting him to have to repeat it <br />and me to have to fully digest it <br />I just looked at him <br />for a minute and he looked back it was then <br />I jumped up and shook hands with this man who'd just given me <br />something no one else on earth had ever given me <br />I may have even thanked him habit being so strong <br /> <br /> <br />Anonymous submission.<br /><br />Raymond Carver<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/what-the-doctor-said/
