Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Sir: I enjoyed Dr. Basch's paper "Biomedical Innovation and World Health" in the summer issue (33[4]:501). His rule 1 (Just Because It Can Be Done Doesn't Mean That It Is Needed) is a newer, more elegant paraphrase of that quintessential medical resident, The Fat Man in Samuel Shem's wonderful novel House of God. "Don'tjust do something; stand there," was one of The Fat Man's most important teaching lessons to residents in internal medicine. I personally think that either Basch's or The Fat Man's version should be painted on the wall over every hospitalized patient's bed and on the cover of each patient's clinical chart. Bernadine Z. Paulchock Medical Center of Delaware Wilmington, Delaware 19718 Permission to reprint a letter printed in this section may be obtained only from the author. 620 Letter to the Editor SEVENTEEN SYLLABLES: HAIKU FOR THE VLBW1 NEWBORN The warm bubble burst. How can we reconstruct its brilliant harmony. Fill again my lungs with soothing nectar. Not this tasteless burning air. Our shiny tools could offer (you) only this brief unshining taste of life. We try gently to push the air of life through passages unyielding. we grieve after your long struggle is over. We promise . . . "We'll know more." Their tiny size belies the hugeness of their struggle to capture life. Lee Frank 'Very low birth weight. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 34, 4 ¦ Summer 1991 621 ...