Cruel Fate

He'd gone to the doctor about a simple cough.
The air rushed from his lungs
as the doctor gave him the news.
Ironic given what he had just been told.
He'd never smoked in his life
but he would die because others had.
Harboring no illusions of immortality
he knew death was inevitable.
Still it didn't need to be painful.
This would be.
Gasping for air, he glanced in the mirror,
and stared into the eyes of Thanatos.

Several months passed for him,
treatments continuing regularly.
His hair fell out, his skin sagged,
his breath came in short pants
and he coughed quite often.
The nurse still smiled at him
and spent time with him on each visit
both before and after his treatments.
She made a point of talking about life
about hope and survival.
He laughed when she told him her name,
though it sounded bitter to Nadiya.

Carrying on had never been harder.
And it wasn't until he saw the child
who had never had a chance to live
but was now consigned to death
that he finally understood.
He changed that day, showing hope
even though he knew there was none.
The child smiled and laughed
despite the lame jokes he told.
He held the young boy's hand
when he took his final breath.
Realizing he didn't know the boy's name
he turned the hospital band.
Tears sprang to his eyes when he read
the name printed there: Ferdinand.

When the doctor told him the news
he grinned, glad that no longer would he
be paying for the follies of more reckless men.
His life would never be the same, though.
Even as they said he wouldn't have to return,
he knew leaving the hospital behind
simply wasn't something he could do.
When his cancer recurred, he didn't frown.
He kept smiling broadly for each of them,
the children who would never be able
to experience life as he had.
Despite their short and numbered days
they smiled when he came to their hall.
And he could not help but admire their
courage in defiance of fate's cruelty.