Three Letter Cancer

I wrote this poem while struggling to be true to my family and friends.

I am the cousin of cancer

A three letter brand discussed for hours

But never once mentioned by name

 

I am the bitter silence that rolls in

Austere steel storm clouds looming

Atop untouched salads at a family wedding

 

I am the poison to my own family tree

A promised death to cherished crests

A foolish 'choice' to torch my own branch

 

I am the dusty unopened scrapbooks

Unfinished baby blankets savagely eaten

By desperate moths and unspoken shame

 

I am the shallow buried secret, lingering

Thoughts haunted by a tell-tale heart

Revived and smothered by the same lost hand

 

I am a desperate creature, longing for love

Seeking heat from the spark from the gears on a toaster

While fearing the familial arms that have so long held me

 

But this is not the letter left on a nightstand

Written in black ink smeared with tears

Promising eternal love and final farewells

 

I am a fighter and I will fight.

I am loved and I will love.

Reviews

[Kaya]

This is beautiful. The symbolism, the description. I really enjoyed reading this! The way you show us whats happening without really telling us too much shows real skill.

[Mirabella]

It's a great poem! I didn't get it at first, but then I read it a second time. THEN I began to understand it... It's really deep, but true. The symbolic meaning is really powerful.

I like this it's powerful and deep

[EternityWolf101]

Very lovely. I love the way it is written and its content is just so true. I have that three letter cancer that people despise so much these days. Great job.