[This is my son Jeff with his friend, Patches, the little pony that died of cancer soon after my son went through his first round of chemo for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. So far he is doing well, and is being maintained on an every-three months single dose of chemo. Jeff is an incredible being, who graces our lives beyond the telling. I wrote this poem a year ago, sitting in the oncology ward with him. But I was looking for something to post today and this popped up.]
June 4, 2010
"I feel like an angel,
burning up
from the inside,"
my son tells me.
We're in the
oncology ward.
Chemo is
drip
drip
dripping
into his arm.
His hair is wisps now,
across his bald head,
like when he was a baby.
His eyes are still
as blue and true.
"I view reality
with perfect clarity,
but I've become aware
of another dimension,"
he tells me.
"When I look into a flower,
I see the whole universe.
I can hear the earth
groaning in ecstasy
and, in my body,
I can feel, with my heart
of compassion,
myself groaning along with it.
It's a good thing,"
he smiles,
reassuringly -
always,
his unchanging
smile.
The chemo
drips
drips
drips
into his arm.
My son is an angel,
burning up from the inside.
Sherry, this is a gorgeous poem, and I love the refrain through out.
ReplyDeletePamela
Sherry, so glad you found it and posted it. Thank you so much for being exactly who you are,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Oh I am glad you posted it Sherry...a beautiful son he is blessings and prayers for this beautiful young man....I love you Wild Woman poem too....my last post on my blog the Dog Days of Summer has a photo of that black dog we adopted...she looks like a black lab but she is actually shepard and a beautiful animal...the poem is about her....bkm
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem. I have been told sometimes animals volunteer
ReplyDeleteto take some of our pain. Perhaps it is so with the little pony. I have great hope for your son, a beautiful boy.
beautiful Sherry, I am so sorry for your son's suffering...it is strange the doors that open us to heaven on earth...but suffering is often a direct path and awakens us to the beauty of being alive.
ReplyDeleteblessings to you.