Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Hope Is (Poem)

Hope Is

for my friends at OurCancer

Hope is
to get to celebrate
the last treatment
and not to know
no treatment is available.

Hope is
ending become beginning
of the tiniest victory
of beating the odds
and getting to talk about it.

Hope is
having made it
this far to this place
not having counted on it.

Hope is
to be alive
at this moment
and breathing

Remarking
on how four letters
spell the difference
into living this day
or not.

© 2010 Maureen E. Doallas. All Rights Reserved.
______________________________

This poem is for the Tuesday, September 7, Blog Carnival sponsored by Bridget Chumbley at One Word at a Time.

The Blog Carnival is a biweekly online event open to anyone. Participants write on a one-word prompt or topic. This week's one word is "hope".

At Bridget's place you'll find a list of links to all of the Blog Carnival contributions, which are posted throughout Tuesday and often through to the end of the week.

The Blog Carnival's FaceBook page is here.

The prompt for the next Blog Carnival, on Tuesday, September 21, is "brokenness". The complete schedule of prompts through the end of the year also is available at Bridget's.

11 comments:

Louise Gallagher said...

And hope is knowing,
a friend like you will be there to laugh and cry and hope beyond hope for another tomorrow with you.

You always strike me as that kind of friend Maureen.

Kelly Sauer said...

that last line - that is powerful, M.

S. Etole said...

I have a friend going through chemo right now ... what you say is so true.

Glynn said...

I read this, and I thought: hope is an eternity, and sometimes eterity is contained within a brief moment. Beautiful poem, Maureen.

HisFireFly said...

Your words remind me that God set before us life and death and told us to choose life!

May many find encouragement through your work.

Unknown said...

A wonderful way to describe hope...thank you!

Anne Lang Bundy said...

My favorite quote about cancer is, "I have cancer. Cancer doesn't have me."

(I think the same could be said of sin, once we've been redeemed from it but still have its stench clinging to us.)

That's how I think of you, Maureen, when the subject of cancer comes up.

Hope is
to be alive
at this moment ...


Indeed it is. Indeed it must be, whatever our ailment. The words now sit, preserved by my hand, at my desk.

Sandra Heska King said...

Four letters spell the difference.

You breathe hope.

Jenne' R. Andrews said...

This is a strong call to awareness and an appeal to stay strong-- good job! The next topic makes me think I should send my entire canon...:) xxx my favorite and least favorite topic but we all have it, yes?

Anonymous said...

When my hubby was going through chemo... hope is what I held onto. Thanks for this beautiful poem, Maureen.

David Rupert said...

Maureen...i indirectly referenced this through Anne Budny's post today over at High Calling

http://goo.gl/fb/fblzW