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METASTASIZE, AN AWKWARD WORD
by
Cindy Taylor
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Metastasize;
an awkward word,
vowels lurking with malice
between those rock hard t’s
and stumbling past that sinister s,
into that endless z…
Even educated women know;
the seeds of broken dreams will gather
nearest to the heart
and grow
until the Gardener’s sharpened shears
snip away the wretched, rotted root.
That puckered rose, that brutal scar,
my brave and beautiful friend;
wear it as a medal:
triumphant, survivor, heroine!
©Cindy Taylor 2008
Photo credit ~ property of MBCCOP Network News
TAKEN TOO YOUNG
Minnie Julia Riperton (1947-1979), American singer-songwriter: In January 1976 Riperton was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a modified radical mastectomy. Though she was given just six months to live, she continued recording and touring, and in 1977 she became spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. Riperton was one of the first celebrities to go public with her breast cancer diagnosis, but did not disclose that she was terminally ill. In 1978, Riperton also received the prestigious Society’s Courage Award presented to her at the White House by then-President Jimmy Carter. She died at age 31 on July 12, 1979.
A VOICE SILENCED TOO SOON
Listen:
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Cindy Taylor ~ Cindy is a freelance writer, a poet, editor and proofreader. She has an abiding passion for food and wine and an endearing zeal for life, which she shares with us on her award-winning food blog, The Only Cin. Cindy lives in Johannesburg, South Africa with her husband, daughter, and a fine cast of animal friends. Judging from photographs, she has a world-class kitchen and an abundance of red shoes.
The BeZine 
Wow, deeply powerful, Cindy. Thanks to you and Jamie for sharing this poem and impactful story. Phew…
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And as I write this my heart is heavy, she is back in the hospital and the prognosis is bleak.
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Cindy, it sounds like the friend you shaved your head for is not doing well. I’m so sorry to learn this. Prayers and blessings going out to you and her. xo
Jamie
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Thank you, Jamie.
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Oh the women we lose, and the brave ones who survive!
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Sidey, it’s been a beastly year for losses.
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I am so touched by this – for many, many reasons. But more on *that* later.
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Thanks Amy, it is a horrid and cruel disease.
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Only 31–so very young–what a shame. Love the poem, Cindy–that is a very awkward (and menacing) word.
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Thanks Bodhirose, wouldn’t it be a fine world if we didn’t even think of writing poems like this?
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Oh, I wish.
Jamie
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Oh, I wish too…
Gayle
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This is such a sad heart-rending subject and all we can do, really, is pray for everyone, the victim, friends and family, the doctors and nurses to be given hope, courage and inspiration…
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I am glad you mentioned the ‘other players’ who suffer in this wretched scenario, adee.
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Powerful poem. So Sad.
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