Saint Cancer
Lance Armstrong was my cancer angel.
I read how he survived stage 3 testicular cancer,
how he survived chemo and radiation.
His suffering and redemption inspired me
to ride my own bicycle thousands of miles.
He burnished his halo, it shone bright
for years before the revelations of cheating,
before his fall from grace.
And I had my own halo,
I became my own cancer angel
after I survived two cancer surgeries,
no chemo, no radiation, minimal scarring.
Family, friends, and strangers prayed for me;
I felt like a saint in my own little world.
I went back to work in the spring,
I was truly blessed, I was lifted up,
as I lifted my students in and out
of their wheelchairs, in and out of their buses.
I got back on my bicycle that summer,
rode two thousand miles before Christmas.
My own fall from grace would come later,
Betrayals, lies, cruel games with people’s lives.
Frank C. Modica
Frank C Modica is a retired teacher who taught children with
special needs for over 34 years. Frank’s writing is animated by interests
in history, geography, and sociology. He lives in a university community, where
he enjoys the various cultural opportunities available to him. His short
story “Homemade” was selected as an Honorable Mention in the Midway Journal
2017 -1000 Below Flash Prose and Poetry contest. His work has appeared in Slab,
Heyday, Cacti Fur, Black Heart Magazine, The Tishman Review, Crab Fat Literary
Magazine, and FewerThan500.
Tags:
Poetry