Cancer Poems

 

After Carole was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985, she began writing a series of poems based on her experiences. Some of these were read at our memorial service on November 2, 2014, and more were found in a file among her papers. All of these are now included in this section.

 

Gold and Ivory

 

Something rotted in my breast

And a black bird with gold beak

Pecked it out, flew away

The poison pellet in its craw

Like a morsel of bread

 

The stigmata kept bleeding

And a white bird with ivory beak

Poured warm honey in my ear

 

The Stoic

 

In frigid Chicago

He never missed a day

No ear muffs, gloves or scarf

Hands red, numb toed feet

Following a puff of frozen breath

Slender and small for his age

One bully tossed him up

He spun like a top on the pavement

On his twisted nose

Blood spurted over the dirty snow

 

But he kept the tears back

Now during his wife's

Surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy

Her waning diminishing him

Chilling him

Filling him with pain

Once again he's flung through the air

But still keeps back tears

Just spins round and round

Until he believes

She'll be the one in a million

Graced by remission

 

 

Vertigo

Humpty Dumpty rode with the king's men

Bumpty held tight the horse's mane

Clopty-roundy-twirly-downdy

Screaming-flipping-jumpty-groundy

 

Dizzy, scared

Whirly, mad,

Shouting, no, no, no

Please, hold me