It is either serious or it isn’t.
The indeterminate mass, 14.8 cm long, 
is either a cyst or a tumor.
If a tumor, either benign or malignant.
If malignant, either slow-growing
or aggressive, in which case
they may contain it. If not,
no one else will recall 
this unseasonable day of waiting
exactly as you felt it, from the inside out                                
—the way the heat of your mind
dropped a few degrees
and grew very quiet. The sediment
settled. You managed to divert 
yourself with words. Then 
you consulted the uncommon
clarity of the sky. A mild    
translucent blue: a sign,
perhaps. The leaves held still 
in the almost imperceptible breeze, 
though at the tips of the branches 
the first buds of spring 
were so close-fisted 
you couldn’t be sure
whether you saw them, or not.