Love and the Lonely Word

 

 

 

 

Love and the Lonely Word

I’ve learned that cancer is a lonely word,

That keeps me distant from most of my friends.

I wonder if I will ever be cured,

And I dream about how my story ends.

Though my soul beckons across that abyss,

My eyes plead pain and my heart softly cries;

My smile shouts falsely that nothing’s amiss,

And laughter lauds half-truths and sometimes, lies.

I would never darken their sunny days,

With tales of dark nights and terror alone.

I tell them I’m well, in so many ways,

The truth for that day can remain unknown.

Yet, I’m never lonely, despite that rift:

I feel their love and each day is a gift!

Mick McKellar

June 2014

If we're lucky enough, we learn early on that others ask us how we are doing because they want to hear that we are well and want to be happy for us. Unloading the dark terrors of the night in person makes others uncomfortable and uncertain how to respond. Such stories are best left to letters, e-mails, and printed word, for the gap that opens when you say, "Cancer," is palpable and painful to experience.

Mick