Under the fan like bad jokes
Flowers make her sneeze
And chocolates give her pimples
All make a mockery of pain
But the bearers mean well
In their non-cancer world
Of condolence and sincerity
This divide is the status quo:
Those with, those without
How can those who have not suffered
Make their sympathy not seem clichéd?
How can those who have suffered
Make their sympathy not seem cloying
The tropes of sickness
Bury her illness deeper
For it is now accepted
Institutionalised, funded
Insured against, majored in
There is the talking to
And the hoping against
Experts, converts, the annoying
Pamphlets and support groups
Oncologists talk like solipsists
About nodes and receptors
Surgeons remonstrate like
Alice In Wonderland Queens
"Off with her breast!"
So they will remove part
Of the woman I love to save her life
She will walk in circles for a while
So they tell me with consoling smiles
But recompense will be
A time disease free
Maybe, maybe...
© shaun patrick green 2013
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