Cancer
I wrote down her diagnosis
So I could learn it
Control it
Manipulate it somehow
As though deleting it from the page
Would release her
I wrote down her diagnosis
So I could memorize it
So I could feel close to her
Protect her
Fix her
I wrote down her diagnosis
But the words don’t make sense
I can’t help her
I can’t fix her
I deleted her diagnosis
But it remained
Treatment loomed
Words gone, ideas unchanged
So I wrote it back down
Stayed with it
Stared at it
Hated it
Her 2 +
Estrogen +
Chemo 6, surgery, radiation
Progesterone –
Her diagnosis