At the Cancer Clinic
Ted Kooser’s poem “At the Cancer Clinic” is told
from the point of view of a patient in a waiting
room observing another patient. The woman the
narrator describes is frail and too weak to walk on
her own; she is being helped into the examining
area by two women, who accompany her on either
side. The patients in the waiting room, including
the poem’s narrator, marvel at the ill woman’s de-
termination and inner strength, as the poem tries to
capture the feeling of awe that people often get
when they realize that someone who is battling
against unimaginable physical weakness is strug-
gling to persevere with the little strength they have.
This poem is included in Kooser’s 2004 col-
lection Delights & Shadows, which was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry that year. Its plain style
and clear, simple language are typical of Kooser,
who has served two terms as the poet laureate of
the United States. Avoiding the obvious stereotypes
about infirmity that another poem might lament,
“At the Cancer Clinic” invites readers to reflect on
the strength of the woman and not to dwell on the
illness that has ravaged her; as a result, the poem
is actually a much more uplifting experience than
its title might at first suggest.
Author Biography
Ted Kooser was born in Ames, Iowa, in April 1939.
His father was a storekeeper and his mother was
Ted Kooser
2004
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