ONCOLOGY 101

"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.

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 -

his unchanging smile.

The chemo

  drips

       drips

           drips

into his arm.

My son is an angel,

burning up from the inside.

for Susan's prompt at Mid Week Motif : Cancer

In 2010, my son had his first round of chemo for lymphoma. We discovered the oncology ward was not a depressing place, but was full of quiet heroes, positive attitudes, and loving smiles, everyone doing what they needed to do to get well. 

I am happy to report that my son, one of those heroes, is doing well, five years later. He had a round of radiation this past summer to manage a recurrence. But he remains his sunny, positive self, viewing treatment as a necessary, if annoying, small blip on his radar screen. He has better things to think about: like composing music and writing poetry. He amazes me. Yesterday was his 44th birthday. 44 years of his sunny smile. I have been blessed.