Cancer
Before I left for college was when he told me.
The reasons for the weight loss had not been the gym,
The fatigue was not from over working.
The man I believed to be perfect was now flawed.
The sparkle in his eye was lackluster
His once radiant skin transformed into fragile paper.
He told me it was good though,
The sickness he had was slow to spread
And he was going to start treatment immediately.
How could this be, my dad, my friend
Sick to the point that it could take his life
Sick to the point that I could see him giving up.
Nothing was working.
The sickness kept spreading
And he kept suffering.
One Saturday I got a call from him.
They had found a new experimental treatment
And would have to go to Nebraska to get it.
He said that it would be rough
And it may not help but it was worth a shot
To beat this or at least delay it.
For a year he was gone
Strict treatment schedule everyday
Not allowed to do anything to jeopardize his progress.
Finally some relief, the word progress.
In my fathers situation, progress is the only thing you can hope
for
Because progress means they are at least delaying the inevitable.
This is very powerful. It seems a lot like the Denise Duhamel stuff we read. I really like it. I think there is a slight change of tone during the paragraph that begins with "one saturday..." and then the tone re-emerges in the next stanza. I like that you don't say the word cancer once in the poem.
ReplyDeleteThis was very deep. I like it a lot. I agree with Katie, I like that cancer wasn't actually said, but you knew exactly what you were talking about. I feel the last stanza changed a little, not quite the wording goes with the rest of the poem.
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteThis is your strongest poem. I especially like the image about the paper.
The only thing I'd like to know a bit more about is your dad's personality. Is there a way that you can include the sound of his voice or the look of his invincibility?
Great stuff. Plainspoken and honest and unsentimental.
Dave