Six hagstones

Six new hagstones, Mother's Day
one for every Bean
drawn and inked by Lee the star
Best hagstones ever seen
Symbols of longevity
crafted by the sea
Of love and fortitude and zest
for everyone and me

©Jemverse

Work in progress

One thing they don't tell you
is that Chemo's pretty shite
If they did no one would do it
and there'd never be the fight
at least not one where poison
is pumped into your body
followed by three weeks of drugs
insidious and shoddy

And yet still here with cancer
it's a choice which must remain
as you're always in the driving seat
and the most to lose or gain
I made the choice to leave it
two infusions; six weeks in
as it took away the best of me
stopped me being; stopped my grin

That was right and right for me
the opposite for others
such is hindsight's privilege
and the knowledge that it smothers
Ten days followed, painful, long
and the allegory of that choice
from the car crash of withdrawal
I now embrace and yes, rejoice

For though still a work in progress
another change has taken place
and one that's for the better
as you can see from gait and face
The CT scan at end of month
will go ahead as planned
But for the moment chemotherapy
in this body is now banned.

©Jemverse

[When, five months ago I was faced with  two choices – three months, or chemotherapy and the chance  of more, that’s kind of a no brainer. But, there’s also quality of life to think about. That might  mean a shorter time. But a qualitative life has so much added value and is absolutely the only choice for me. So that’s the path I’ve now taken. ‘Joie de vivre!’]

Rested

Some days merge and meld
There's a place for that
and when coupled with a healing
they border on a beautiful
mostly peaceful use of time
purpose and meaning merging
and melding and slipping away
And I am rested.

©Jemverse

Arrival 7

7 of 12 in the ’12 months VII’ series

A daffodil to greet the month
birth flower for first of March
as here we greet the cuckoo
and the primrose and the larch
Spring pops up in every corner
to awaken and appease
the doldrums of the winter
as it does its best to please

©Jemverse

I am the one in four revisited

I am the one in four
leaping through the years
my letters match my value
unique, so it appears
I'm the plus-one to the three six five
my invitation rare
tagged on as February twenty-nine
a tetrad seldom there.

©Jemverse

Borrowed time

Borrowed time, often said but
in context mostly wrong
particularly when in actual fact
it was stolen in the first place.
That's my story; stolen big time
So, though I'm now eating into
time I've been told I shouldn't have
it's far from borrowed as it was
wholly mine in the first place.
'Borrowed time' Pah! What's that about?
It's not borrowed. It's yours. So use it.
Wisely and sincerely and wholeheartedly
and profusely and passionately and always.
Seize it and hold it and live it and be it.
It's wholly yours, so never ever let it go.

©Jemverse

Rebellious Hope

I believe Belinda may have got it right
and heaven IS a place on earth
not that I'm planning on
going there anytime soon
For those of us who live in rebellious hope
(sic. Dame Deborah Jones R.I.P.)
stand up to adversity no matter how bleak
it sometimes gets.
Heaven is a long time coming
but when my time comes
I'll be off to the place Belinda sees
Right here, in perfection as God intended.
Meantime rebellious hope prevails.

©Jemverse

Skin and bone

I now know the meaning of all skin and bone
and it's not something I would choose to condone
for I've lost so much weight it's now bothering me
and as part of this illness scarce solution I see

I've not been this light since I was a lad
and that in itself is making me sad
The answer of course is to eat more but there
is the rub and the root I'll gladly here share

For though I'm still eating I've poor appetite
which I think is the drugs and other such shite
and combined together with all that ensues
boils down to the problem and catch twenty-two

They'll tell you of course it's mind over matter
But I can attest right here that illusion to shatter
for it's one of the hardest things to get started
when you've been kicked and your life has been shafted

©Jemverse

Scaffolding

Outside my window the scaffolding blight
is getting annoying and hiding the light
It's been up too long and there in  our sight
and long overdue to be gone

The roof and the leading weeks ago done
yet still it is here to block out the sun
It's time for the scaffolding people to come
as it's long overdue to be gone

So we had a pop, played the old access card
told them quite clear that it made it hard
to have scaffolding up to manoeuvre when marred
so it's long overdue to be gone

©Jemverse

(some of it has now gone, but some still remains even now!)

Good form

Last Sunday, not a good day
thoughts were swirling, caught me up
needed rest and got it
but this remains a bitter cup
Some days it just gets like that
comes in from the left field
and though I do my best to counter
it's hard to stand and not to yield

So when it comes I do my best
to think of other things
Play music, write a poem
remember my heart sings
Most days these are unusual
thank goodness, not the norm
as most days like today of course
I'm me and in good form

©Jemverse