and I almost didn’t notice
today was better, less
consumed by pain and terror.
When I awoke, still in bed,
for a little while I wished for
tender and unhurried sex.
Suddenly cancer wasn’t a nightmare,
nor a frightening intruder. It’s become
a foreign cousin, here to stay the year.
I got up, shuffled through a little
housework, paid some bills. Opened
the blinds to let the sun into my heart.
Today I kept down lunch, on a hunch
chose tomorrow’s menu. Let myself
want to live again.
Third Place in Free Verse Category,
Illinois State Poetry Society 2007 Contest
©2007 Bonnie Manion