They say I am the lucky one
Now that cancer’s come and gone
Although that’s how it is depicted
Truthfully, I feel conflicted
My hopes were swallowed with my dreams
And even now my body screams
It took more than I could give
But left me with the chance to live
I must be the lucky one
For others cancer came – they’re gone
Its treatment left my body battered
Others left with ashes scattered
Talk of battles bravely fought
And insufficient wording wrought
Too young, too much ahead to go
It makes no sense, that’s all I know
It’s true I am the lucky one
Today I saw the rising sun
For that I humbly acknowledge
My vast amount of privilege
Loved ones to cook and clean and drive
To hold me, help me to survive
To glimpse a realm where love abounds
Embracing us in tender rounds
It’s hard to be the lucky one
The battle’s echoes aren’t outrun
Once naïve, grieving the cost
Of past me’s innocence, now lost
A path not chosen, not endorsed
On exit, gratitude I forced
It felt strange to celebrate
The “ending” of a twist of fate
So pray, who are the lucky ones?
Those untouched who cancer shuns?
Life’s battles never lost or won
Each leaves its mark, and damage done
The aftertaste of freedom gained
My life will never be the same
Survival’s complex guise I’ve spun
As the unlucky lucky one
Laura writes... 