The Euthanasia of Tom Youk By Jack Kevorkian,
Broadcast on “60 minutes” November 22 1998

to Cardinal John O’Connor

I knew Tom years before his death was aired.
-Wearing tennis shoes and a welder’s black
Face shield, inspecting the muffler just tacked-
But nothing could have possibly prepared
Him for the terror as his legs went slack,
As his arms failed. Tom and his wife wrote Jack.
Jack brought relief and that relief was shared.
And if, John O’Connor, it were your bones
Rubbing small sores through your thin skin, your mind
Inside the weak and wheezing shell, your own
Arms not propping not stopping the choking,
If you had Tom’s pain, Tom’s fear, Tom’s bare room,
How you would praise the human capacity
For control, the grace of merciful choice.