The Topic of Cancer

The Topic of Cancer

 

  

 

 

It rained the day we buried you.
I acclimated myself to the pain
through the mindless fog

of family and well-wishers

and the overt sound of a furnace

clicking on then off,
as conversations were hushed
by the topic of cancer.

 

I wanted you here

wrapped in the familiarity of home,

watching the pendulum sway of a willow
waiting for the first snow of winter,

waiting for a remission

that never came.

 

 

…that never came.

 

 

The scent of a pipe tobacco lingers

in halls  of framed photographs,

in novels on bedside tables.

And i grieve in this gulf of silence

tethered by the ghost of you.

 

An appendage

to the topic of cancer.

 

 

Author's Note

I wrote this a few years back as a dedication to those who have lost a loved one to this dreaded disease, deciding today, to bring it to light.

Reviews

[Neville]

its a beast isn't it Kelly and one I know only too well .. but then, doesn't almost everyone .. here, you have more than adequately and sensitively touched on a subject that many avoid .. and filled that space with a deep and true sense of loss .. a magnificent mourning song my friend .. no bull .. Neville

[Kelly Scheppers]

You always make such a difference in my day. Thank you, Nev!

[D. Mansfield]

what a beautiful tribute to the idea of someone torn from you.

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you, Dan!

[Pete]

a cruel, merciless, dreaded matter indeed. the mere mention of that word is a gut punch. your words are touching and tug at innermost heartstrings.

[Kelly Scheppers]

What a welcomed face you are! Thanks, my friend!

[carl]

Beautiful expressions of loss, longing, and remembrance carried by the things of appendage -carl

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you for the kindness of your words, Carl...and your visit!

[Lorry]

I do like the wordplay of the title, with topic instead of tropic Kelly and i agree that it should be a more accessible topic to speak of, which I suppose it is compared to me growing up days when growers up's would only mouth the word and confuse all us kids by losing their voice every time it was or wasn't mentioned.
I've been finding out lots about it over last month or so, because Katie was worried about her throat enough to go to docs and confided in me she'd been reading up on thyroid and all the problems connected with it, so I put my big boy pants on and went with for some support and thankfully it is only a polyp (singular), which I'm told us far more treatable than a clump of them. She was so relieved and my voice went all high pitched when she said that and I fasetto'd "you're relieved??? What about me?" which made her laugh and then I scolded her and told her not to die before me, because it's a tradition here in Scotland, which is full of widows in their 80+, while us feeble men go get our slippers on and shuffle off with death the minute we know we get to lie down!
Here in Inverness-shire, there are a group of ladies we call the crumblies who we helped stay in touch during lockdown, but now are having zoom meetings and in charge of everything, while all the guys have popped their clogs off at the first sniff of retirement.
So getting back to the point (please, any reader says) is yes, we bloody well should be talking about cancer and not adding to the taboo, like they used to do back in the day.
So there you have it, my usually succinct and to the point opinion that somehow I manage to pass off as a review!
Hope you are well and somewhere not frozen or twister'ish!

Ps... I decided to copy and correct the message for less confuselations 😃

[Thomas W Case]

Beautiful work. Full of empathy and compassion. Excellent.

[Coyote Poetry]

I lost my stepmother last month to cancer. Cancer takes so much from us. I liked the memories shared and description of places missed. Hello dear Kelly. I wish I was in San Diego today. One degree in cold and chilly Michigan. Thank you for sharing your your words and thoughts.
Coyote

[Kelly Scheppers]

Good to see you, John. Thank you for your presence here. Stay warm. Spring is just around the corner - hopefully!

[Coyote Poetry]

I hope dear Kelly. Michigan Winter can be very long. You are welcome.

[andrew mitchell]

Well written with your natural flair. It's very sad indeed, having worked in the histopathology lab for 47 years this year you get to see very sad cases, the young, the just married, all ages with only weeks to live.

[Kelly Scheppers]

I've always felt that that line of work takes someone pretty special. Thank you, Andrew!

[Dave W.]

It was really good; your talent is impressive. I hate death and what it robs us of, I read this at work teary eyed, probably should have waited to read it at home. I have never had to deal with cancer but have had to deal with losing a loved to a medical condition. It was a battle we fought for two years, I really miss her, thank you for touching my heart.

[Kelly Scheppers]

If only heaven allowed us visitation hours. Thank you, Dave!

[Dave W.]

Truly, I really hope you have a great day, I very much appreciate your mind in the poetry you've written.

[Poetic Beauty]

Cancer is an unforgiving disease! It takes away people we love or at best fighting for their life.

This is a sad heartfelt tale of losing someone near and dear to cancer and the hole it left behind

[Kelly Scheppers]

Thank you most kindly!