I wonder if you’re still practising
if you still spend your time telling people
“I don’t think you’ll see your next birthday”
I saw you once, or maybe twice, and you seemed well past middle-aged
I wonder if you’re still practising finding the right words
juggling clinical detachment with quiet sympathy
or did you master that skill many years ago
I wonder if you’re still practising being the one who has to say out loud
what no one else even dares to whisper
I wonder if you’re still practising fighting a losing battle on a daily basis
I wonder if you’re still practising forgetting the faces
of those who just never made another appointment
I like to imagine you retired and remembering
the ones you helped to win
