The Hostile Patient Poem by Richard Lackman

I understood his hostile tone and why he doubted me
So many had he seen before and yet they could not see
Below his hard veneer of anger which his pain induced
Symptoms which were quickly to hysteria reduced

How to breach his thick defenses and obtain his trust
Before discussing his condition first I knew I must
Communicate with him as simply normal people do
Establishing rapport and then approaching things anew

My overstated kindness and my obvious concern
Left him feeling quite defenseless as he did discern
That we could hold a conversation wherein facts would be
Clear of misconception as together we would see

And so his diagnosis from obscurity appeared
Nothing fatal, fortunately not what he had feared
I did not save a life that day and yet I surely learned
The value of compassion and the trust that I had earned