This is the next installation in a series of poems written collectively by women living with cancer. The most recent of the series poems to appear here was What the Women Wrote, 4 (August 2013).
What the Women Wrote, 5
By the Women Who Know
Heartbeat Feats
I have done my best, my worst,
and all manner of things
in between.
I have broken the so-called
generational curse.
I wrote my own story.
I’m learning to celebrate
life, love myself,
be happy with who I see in the mirror:
me in all my glory.
I still have that wildness.
I’ll fight for me to see,
to be, all encompassing
running free,
expanding out, contracting in
quiet and bellowing.
I see compassion, empathy, appreciation.
I see a beautiful lady who is kind
and gracious and seems to be at peace
with herself, happily surprised
by planting seeds and seeing them grow.
Courageous sisters: do not stumble!
Breathe, sing, see, celebrate, just be.
We are not our diagnosis alone.
No matter how dark the night sky
there is a star to guide you home.
I see survival.
I see life in vivid word-color. Thank you for sharing.
Sharon