Today I’m asking you to “hug” someone very special to me. Her strength, perseverance, and willingness to walk through anything life throws at her (including homelessness) with patience and compassion are astonishing. I will let her poem tell the latest chapter in her story:
Chemotherapy 1
There was a monster growing
Somewhere in the milk,
And I found it and told them:
Let’s have a look.
They looked, and we saw:
A tiny monster growing,
And worse, it was breeding,
Seeding and sowing.
We measured and weighed,
Tested and waited,
Researched and planned,
And then we began.
Two days later, my body
Grumbles and growls,
Stabs and howls
Danger and doom.
“We’re dying!” it tells me,
And I know it’s true:
The cure for cancer
Is poison pure through.
But it’s only a little,
I think my reply,
And not for long.
We will not die.
And so it begins,
The war of the cells,
Medicinal napalm
For one personal hell.
9.6 million deaths in a year,
But 16.9 million live.
My chances look great,
Tiny monster meets fate.
Something’s gotta give.
by The ResidentPoet
written October 2, 2020
The Resident Poet has been sharing some of her stories with Braided Lives. You can see her first one here: https://www.braidedlives.com/homelessness
If you would like to help The Resident Poet with basic needs such as housing, food, and medial supplies as she goes through treatment, please send me (Jena) an IM. HUGS!
