Open House

Sharing germs with

All the little petri dishes

And their families.

Teachers' Table

Gathered around the table

We realize

We're all in this together.

Feeling separated by

The thin veneer of chairs

We soon come to sharing

Intimate conversations

That make us realize

Our need is to serve others

With the food

Of love and acceptance,

The knowledge

Of our shared humanity,

And the vulnerability

Of saving grace.

UnBirthday

I decided not to

Have a birthday this year,

I'd just add it on to next year.

But amid phone calls and cards

Gifts and good wishes

It turned out to be

A wonderful celebration of life!

Thanks for reminding me

To appreciate the day.

Our Summer Nonparty

What a wonderful gathering

Of family.

A comfortable closeness.

I felt taken care of

And loved.

Comfort food and caring

Concern and sharing.

I finally felt good,

With family around me

It would all work out

And our history and our future

Created a wonderful

Safe place to be.

The New Normal

It appears to include;

Bones stretched like taffy,

Nerves cut like cords,

Tingling across the chest,

A stomach fighting to stay put,

And all the typical aches and pains

Of my 56 year old body.

Aftershocks

Every action

Causes a reaction.

Angry red welts

Creating a scarlet necklace

Around my aching throat.

Will a spoonful of sugar help?

Benadryl will.

Thanks

Wrapped in a blanket of love.

So many prayers and wishes

Woven into the wool.

Hugging you close around me

I feel warm and comforted.

The woolly feeling

Of "chemo brain" fades away.

War of the Worlds

Sitting 6 hours

As they drip poison

Into my veins

Is a paradox.

How these drugs

Can kill my cells

While healing my body

Makes no sense.

This invading army

Is now at war.

Little terrorists

Killing everything in sight

Making no distinction

Between the little blood cells

With the white hats

And the potential black hats.

I just hope my body

Knows when to wave

The white flag.

Chemo

The Unknown

What to expect

Becomes mundane

Once we become experts.

But the unknown

Makes us uncomfortable,

Shakes us up

And dumps us out

Careening across

An unfamiliar landscape

Without a compass.

I'll need a hand to hold

Whether next to me

Or in my heart

To help lead me back

Safely home.

Damn Yankees!

Gary's Dream

Close your eyes

And you could be anywhere.

The Doctors office

Becomes the sandy carpet

On the beach.

The syringe

Is just the umbrella

In the drink.

The Classroom could be

An Alaskan Cruise.

Whiteboard glaciers

Dotting the horizon.

The squeal of dolphins

Drowning out the

Other high pitch noises.

Lying in bed at night

You can imagine

You could wake up anywhere.

Just close your eyes.

Hawaii

Dreams of days

On tropical beaches

Sand between my toes

Instead of snow.

Warm sun on my

Healthy body.

No foreign bodies.

The only port

Is a surfers' paradise.

Visions of vacation

Sustenance for now.

Fair Weather

The sun of a smile

Warm with memories.

The gentle breeze

Of a touch

Like waves between bodies.

Words weaving a story

And connecting

The past and present.

Filling in the gaps

Between conversations

And experience.

A voice on the phone,

A friend at lunch,

Whispered confidences-

A bright spot

In the day.

Book Club

Emily Dickinson-

White dress

In the window

Proclaiming herself

To the world.

A thin veneer

To cover a brilliant mind.

Seeing the beauty

In the world around her.

Being able to laugh

And look at the truth.

Reflecting

The human spirit.

P.T.

Is it bad

When the Physical Therapist's

And my eyes pop open

As we hear

A pop in my arm?

Monday Morning

Wide awake at 3 AM.

Simon and Garfunkel

Sing me to sleep.

Slowly drifting

Back in time

To a carefree age

When August

Only meant

Living each day

Like it was your last day

Of vacation.

Cancer Free Weekend

At Joe's birthday party

Celebrating his 11 years

I'm not going to think

About the next 18 weeks.

At the Irish Fest

Enjoying the cool day

Sampling food and music

I'm not going to notice

The tug if I move

A little too fast.

At Canterbury Downs

Watching the horses

And people parade

I focus on the end of the race

And try to enjoy

The moment

With family and friends.

Happy Birthday Joe

What an amazing attitude

For an eleven year old.

So kind and thoughtful.

Aware of the world

And finding his place in it.

An old soul

smiling out

Of those beautiful

Young eyes.

Another Day Another Test

Head in the belly

Of the radioactive beast.

Strapped on a gurney

With the warm contrast

Running through my veins.

The thump of it's cold heart

Conducting my breathing

As the voice of the machine

Reminds me

Breathe,

Hold your breath,

Breathe.

Naps

A momentary escape.

Close your eyes

And block out

All the bad dream monsters.

Create your own vision

Of a beautiful day.

Breathe out all the anxiety

And reawaken to

The fresh new world

You've created.

A waking dream.

Patron Saints of My Classroom

Blessed be St Stephen

Who like Michelangelo

Dedicated his time

To making my classroom

A work of art.

Blessed be St Mary

The Virgin Mother

Who like St Martha

Really knows how to clean.

Blessed be St Jennifer

Patron saint of nurses

Who helped nurse my classroom

Back to health.

Blessed be St James

Patron Saint of messengers

Who really delivered

On moving around those

Books and boxes.

Blessed be St Gary

Greeter at the gate

Organizer of book shelves

Just like at the grocery store

And special protector

Of cancer patients.

God bless them everyone!

I Like Vicodin

I needed a stab of pain

On my left side

Near my heart

To balance the

Ache on my right side

Under my breast.

With a migraine

In my head

To top it off

It all evens out.

One Good Thing

With wigs

You never have

A bad hair day!

Sunday in the Park

I'm too much

Inside my head.

Pondering what's

Going on in my body.

Connecting synapses

To fill the gaps

Of information overload.

I need to get outside

And open my mind

To let the fresh air in.

Anniversary

I still go to the phone

To call mom.

In my mind they're still there

At 1286 Scheffer,

Sitting in their recliners

Mom's legs tucked up

Under her

In her sweats

Dad with beer

On the table between them.

Clock over head

Chiming the time

And counting

The precious minutes.

My Story

Each new person to cross my path

Becomes a part of my story.

My compassionate surgeon

Who explains the path is not straight.

The nurses who treat me professionally

But more important, mother me.

The voice from the phone-

My lifeline,

Who with a hug and a tear

Becomes a real person.

Smiling faces

With kind words

And encouragement.

These are some of the heroes

Who've become part of my story.

My Neon

My car has cancer.

First my brake line

Rusted out.

Whether in sympathy pains

Or old age.

Then on its next run

Out of the garage

The gas line broke.

Poor Neon,

Like me,

Doesn't know

If it's coming or going.

My MUGA Test

Needle under the skin

Intrusive attack

Rape of the veins.

A mental phobia

Inflicted on the body

Another test to pass.

Information Overload

I need the facts

I need to know

What could happen

So I can choose

How I react.

I can't change anything

But myself.

So I need to know

What my options are.

I can't enjoy the trees

If I don't know

I'm in a forest.

Health History

Little aches and pains

Seem to creep up on us

As we age.

An ouch here

A groan there

That awful noise

We make to get up.

Our bodies have

Their own language.

Maybe it's trying

To tell me something.