Cancer Poem!
by Stephanie Kemp




Written at 1:17am after a day of chemotherapy and steroids with a hearty dash of mainlined Benadryl. This story (which arrived as poem) may be a little choppy, as chemo (also) kills my cadence…

Why Are So Many People Getting Cancer?

Microplastics
Processed food
Too much wine?
Bad attitude!

Toxic space
Life spent inside
Teenaged cells,
Gone rogue and wide

Inflammation
Piped in lead
Too much sugar?
(Eat plants instead!)

Unseen chemicals
Everywhere
Tainting all that great fresh air

Stress and life
This world and fear
Create the knots that live in here

“Here” (used here), means “ThemYouMe."

A Club of:
“No Life’s Cancer Free.”*

The club is growing very large,
And it’s not quite clear just who's in charge.

(I hope it's Doctors, Nurses, Science….
But Hope needs Help, not non-compliance.)

And we can’t just (always) blame a parent…..
Sometimes (some) genes just go errant.

Maybe we should ask the host/s...
(Aren’t they the ones that know the most?)

I vote we switch, “The War on Cancer!”
To:“Cancer Puzzle: There’s No (One!) Answer.”

The puzzle’s tough (and still evolving),
But it’s one the world works hard at solving.

Now I’m heading to the woods.
(I need less City...and far less Shoulds.)

If you want me, call The Club.
They can find me…at the pub.** 

I need to keep writing, there are things I’ll have missed….
(And if I keep sharing, maybe you’ll share your list.)


*I don’t mean to say that everyone will get cancer, but I (do mean that I) bet someone they love or like (or will love or like) will.

** drinking tea...maybe.