Empathy

My patient is sick, and she needs

My empathy, besides my expertise, indeed

I’m cognizant of her disability and pain

I also understand the mental strain

That she experiences every day

As heart failure (literally) sucks her breath away

Everything in my interaction that I emphasize

Is focused on her needs, with her I empathize

*

There is another person in the room, who I tend to ignore

The patient’s daughter, who has been taking on more

Responsibility for her care, with her deteriorating condition

Her role is pivotal but since I am not her physician

I miss the signs plainly visible on her face

Of caregiver fatigue, that should be obvious in this case

I have not paid much attention to her, I confess

Though she has been instrumental in the treatment’s success

*

She brings up the question of hiring more caregivers, sotto voce

And then I turn to her, to hear what she has to say

I realize that from the health care system and me

She needs, as much as her mother does, empathy