Poetry and Medicine

March 26, 2008

The Suit

Frank DeCicco, MD

Author Affiliations

Poetry and Medicine Section Editor: Charlene Breedlove, Associate Editor. Poems may be submitted to jamapoems@jama-archives.org.

JAMA. 2008;299(12):1404. doi:10.1001/jama.299.12.1404

When the time comes to donate your clothes

i will leave the gray check suit in your closet
     for the foreseeable future.
I’m not so foolish to think that you're coming back
     and will need it again
rather, i want some tangible item
     other than pictures documents and death certificates
          glossy flat and thin.

With your suit i am able to
put my hand into its sleeve
roll my arm in the pant leg
puff out the jacket

and feel your silken space.

There's something so substantial in its emptiness

that i need now after five months

when the memories are still strong
but your reality is slowly
eroding.

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