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JAMA. 2008;299(16):1878.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 90 words of the full text and any section headings.

Everything is nervous here, vibrating
to the hum of air conditioning.
Outside, the palms are never still.
Inside, palms sweat in high anxiety.
Even the indifferent chameleon
sunning on the hot veranda
blows his red sac as a warning.

On the Gulf a tropical depression
brews a hurricane. Depression
in this place is deeper still,
this space where hopes die,
wishes fail, silent waiting ends
as the next white-coated person
speaks of trying everything.

And the coldness that comes then
makes the heat of anger welcome,
like the coming storm.

Robert L. Jones
Kemah, Texas

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