POEM: A Pre-existing Condition

As I lay coughing in my bed,

I thought upon a book I’d read.

A fairytale story of a faraway land,

Where healthcare was free and centrally planned.

No one denied coverage, no one turned away.

A fundamental right not dependant on pay.

And I thought of that land with a tear in my eye,

An ache in my head, and a pain in my thigh.

And I thought of that land and I started to cry,

As I lay, without medicine, waiting to die.