see me

The layered scars,

bestowed along years of treatment

would tell their own story

if only I could let them.

But the cutting removing

re-arranging and healing

are neither sights nor tales

for the faint of heart,

and my cancer is not yet public property.

I don’t want your sorrow.

Don’t wear pink for me

and run marathons in my name

because my life, (what’s left of it)

is not yours to pity.

I’m the same bitch I’ve always been,

I still laugh at misfortune and

swear freely without shame.

Cynicism sharpened by poison.

See me

before you see the cancer.

See the curly hair even when I’m bald

and the smile flying at half mast.

See the mismatched-on-purpose clothes

and the defiance

lingering behind my eyes.

See the terror, the pain and the loneliness

separating terminal

from curable.

Rest with me in my silences.

See me pleading for time that you take for granted

but see me first.

I am not your drama

you cannot steal me.

I am not a crutch enabling your betterment

and I have no silver lining.

I’m the bad news you wish you hadn’t met,

sent to spoil your healthy day

but in my way, I’m happy.

I see joy where you cannot.

Love, birdsong, friendships, kindness

are spread so thickly on my slice of life

that I grow fatter each day

in the moment of every mouthful.

And the best? I save that for dessert.

I am not yet dead