2 posts tagged “cancer”

Cusp

The first-quarter Moon
hanging in the blue
evening sky
reminds me of
your breast in
profile

the one that
remains
after the operation
took the other one,
for prevention's sake,
they said

and I am reminded
how horrible things
often grow
in beautiful places

tho' I say
none of this to you
as we sit together
in the backyard
after dinner

I simply write
my thoughts down
in the notebook
with a pencil

as you turn to me
in your lawn chair
to tell me
the rose bushes
out front
are being eaten whole
by beetles.

The Cancer Walk

They gather by the hundreds
on a sunny October morning,
in jeans and sweatsuits and
sunglasses, sipping coffee and
tea from bright pink cups.
Hugs, kisses, smiles and tears
fall thicker than the leaves
of the surrounding park,
and names are murmured
to each other, sisters, mothers,
aunts, wives and daughters,
loved ones lost on the field
of this cruel battle for life.
Everyone walks for someone
important to them.
The crowd begins to march
and cheer for the news crews
gathered to watch; the pink T-shirts,
the pink hats, and several pink scarves
wrapped around bare heads
that have yet to have their
hair return. But who needs
hair when you have a crown
of victory and hope to wear,
bright and pink in the sunlight,
and the steps of those
lost but not forgotten
walking in time with those
who will always remember.