mother

poetry by SamiraJune 16, 2020

Cancer

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 […]

poetry by SamiraJanuary 9, 2019January 9, 2019

Face cream

My mom mixed me this fancy lotion She took all her face creams Her favorite ones Mixed them all up In a fancy jar And gave them to me That was two years ago I use it sparingly So it lasts forever Like I hope she lasts forever Because I cannot bear to think of […]

Uncategorized by SamiraSeptember 8, 2018June 16, 2020

Disease

Author’s note: this was written while my beloved mother was in the depths of chemotherapy, a punishing treatment for a punishing disease. Her outlook, progress, and my own have come a long way since then, and we find ourselves in better spirits. Hope abounds as the journey continues, but any light, love, and healing energy […]

poetry by SamiraSeptember 2, 2018

Ride

I cried at the end of the bike ride As the virtual instructor yelled at me to push “Rise up!” He said “Let your heart lift out of your chest! And rise up, let your heart carry you!” I pushed Pedaling hard All of the months and years Rattling in my head As it battled […]

poetry by SamiraAugust 17, 2018

Ancestral Voices

I don’t pay enough attention when she speaks Her voice so sweet Like a song Washes over me Like in a trance I fade away But what if her voice is gone What will wash my soul

poetry by SamiraAugust 16, 2018August 17, 2018

That voice

I heard my mom sing today It was beautiful Especially after the doctor’s visit She’d said, it’s unusual But people have lived for years With metastatic disease She had to say unusual Why did she have to say unusual? Mom took it as hope I was gripped with fear But we heard “Strangers in the […]