Thursday, December 19, 2013

The Mayan calendar ends


Welcome to the Holiday Blog Tour ... Did you have a chance to read yesterday's short story "Sacrifices" by Natasha Oliver? You should. Her story beautifully captures the intricacies of family, motherhood and identity.

Tomorrow, please visit the blog of Lupe Mendez, a truly stunning poet.

A year ago, nearly to the day, I was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. It's been a year of impossible decisions and recovery and reflection. Poetry is not my first language. But capturing the heady, raw emotions of what I went through seemed to call for the limitlessness that, paradoxically, only a compact form can provide. Here is my entry.



The Mayan calendar ends

We stare at the images of my breast
faceless to each other

“Here,” the doctor says, “And here.”

He traces invisible circles
claiming territory
on the spiderwebbed surface of the moon

This is where we will take
core samples
and mine for my future

The shadow of a snake appears
on the temple where sacrifices are made

Somewhere a hunter stumbles upon
a lone rabbit’s foot left
clamped in metal jaws



5 comments:

Colleen Sutherland, storyteller said...

For a non-poet, you nailed it.

Yola said...

I don't do poetry, so "good" isn't in my realm of expertise. But the power of what you wrote moved me, so by my definition of good, it's great.

Jon said...

Wow. Such power & beauty arising from such a horrendous circumstance. There is justice in this world.
...poetic justice. Ha! Take that, world!

Bella said...

Wow! You did warn us it would be raw... such a beautiful way to describe the fear and agony of the unknown depths of a cancer diagnosis. Thanks for sharing.

Purple Houses said...

Thank you all for the very kind words...