Death With Dignity by C. W. Dalton Hippocrates never viewed doctors as agents To prolong the suffering of terminal patients. The Bible with dubious, conflicting readings Is preempted by loved ones' compassionate pleadings. The mercy of sparing a loved one of pain Is the ultimate action of being humane. While some people insist before leaving the earth All terminal patients be stripped of their worth. Bereft of control, they're kept helpless in bed; With their dignity gone, they'd be better off dead. Or consider the comatose child's annual cost, The cause of a family's home being lost. Incurable patients bear unneeded pain, As families' savings go fast down the drain; And the suffering is shared by the friends and the kin, While only the doctors and hospitals win. Warning: The Sergeant General Has Determined This Book To Be Hazardous To Bigotry And Intolerance. Reprinted with permission. Excerpt from Limericks and Rhymes for Critical Times by C.W. Dalton. ©1994 Published by Big Blue Books, P. O. Box 1627, Lakeside, CA 92040. $9.95.