Progression

by Gary Beck

Illness suspected,
you visit the doctor.
The diagnosis is grim,
a fatal disease.

You go to the hospital,
try different drugs
that debilitate,
but don't do much good.
Your condition worsens
and can't be treated at home.

You go to a nursing home
where you won't last long enough
for them to profit,
so you're sent to a hospice,
but no one looks sincere,
although they talk good caring.

Your body and mind
begin to falter,
you soon lose touch
with the world around you.
You are in transit
from life to death,
no longer able
to question what comes next.

You no longer notice
how the hospice treats you,
only your loved ones care
about your condition.

You have outlived usefulness,
yet social values demand
you remain alive
as long as possible,
despite the burden
on caregivers,
whose concerns only end
when you are transported
to the final resting place.