I Am Every Woman...

SoCalGal · 10-02-2008, 10:05 AM

Hope you don't mind...in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month and my year-long journey - comma - I am re-posting this poem:

I AM EVERY WOMAN

I am every woman with stage-four breast cancer. I am every tear ever shed. I am every pain, every fear, every test, every scan.

I am every unpredictable tumor marker. Rising to diminish hope. Sinking to diminish fear.

I am every feeling of despair, of fear, of loneliness, of isolation, of shame and of worry. I am every woman longing for her breasts, grateful for how they nourished her children and satisfied her lovers. I am every woman mourning their loss. I am that empty space; I am every missing breast. I am every lopsided shirt, every uncomfortable bra, every prosthetic, every implant, every insert, and every effort to camouflage and fill in the void. I am every reconstructed nipple trying to match what only God could make.

I am every child who has watched their mother fighting for her life. I am every child who has lost their mother to the fight.

I am every hair, floating from its scalp, falling in clumps, in tufts, in long winding tattle-tails until nothing is left but a newborn’s head.

I am every woman’s broken heart as she stands in front of the mirror;
Pale from chemo, Breast-less and bald, Naked and vulnerable, TRYING to be a warrior.

I am every woman as she puts on her warrior paint. I am every hand-drawn eyebrow, every glued-on eyelash, every pot of blush, every wig, every scarf, every turban, every cap, and every hat. I am every woman warrior, painted bravely for battle.

I am every woman with stage-four (metastatic-shhhh!) Breast cancer
Trying to sleep at night, trying to find comfort and safety and hope.

I am stage-four (metastatic-shhhh!) breast cancer.
Dividing for NO reason or for too much? estrogen, progesterone, sugar, stress…OR genetic damage, Or not enough? Antioxidants, amino acids, omega 3’s, omega 6’s, melatonin, vitamin d, vitamin e, vitamin a, vitamin b, vitamin c, green tea, red tea, black tea…

I am every woman with METS to her lungs, her sternum, her bones, her lymph nodes, her spine, her liver, her kidney, her skin, her brain, her body, her heart (BUT NOT HER SPIRIT).

I am every woman with Stage-Four Metastatic Shhhh! Breast cancer to her life. Mets to her family, her friends and her lovers.

I am every woman with STAGE FOUR metastatic breast cancer (out loud), desperately awaiting a cure. Wishing and hoping and praying and begging and fighting and fighting and fighting.

I AM EVERY WOMAN WITH STAGE 4 (of 4) METASTATIC BREAST CANCER (LOUD). Running for a cure, walking for a cure, painting for a cure, writing for a cure, researching and networking, and donating, and praying and hoping and fighting and fighting and fighting and fighting for a cure. I am every woman, demanding a cure. I am every woman, with stage-four metastatic breast cancer, DEMANDING A CURE.

Believe51 · 10-02-2008, 10:20 AM

Glad you did Flori, I read this from time to time and now it is closer to the top!! Lots of love and prayers to you always>>Believe51

Gerri · 10-02-2008, 10:32 AM

Flori,

I always get chills when I read this. It is an amazing tribute to all warriors. I wish all women fighting breast cancer could read this - it has such power.

Thank you for re-posting.

All my best,

Sheila · 10-02-2008, 02:50 PM

Flori...fighting Flori as I think of you
Thank You for reposting this...it is so very powerful, It awakens an inner strength that we sometimes lose sight of.

Pam P · 10-02-2008, 05:09 PM

Flori - I had not read this before. Thank you for posting this. It made me cry - so raw & so real. Thank you.

Jackie07 · 10-02-2008, 05:15 PM

Wonderful tribute! Thanks, Flori.

Sherryg683 · 10-02-2008, 07:25 PM

I had never read that before and it also touched my heart deeply. Strong but sad..sherryg683

Bill · 10-03-2008, 09:39 PM

Thanks Flori! I've read your poem before, but it was touching to read it again. I think that we should have a "Hall of Fame Posts" somewhere, and that should be Number 1, or at least bumped up several times a year. I love your avatar, by the way. Did you paint that one?

SoCalGal · 10-04-2008, 05:03 PM

Hi Bill - yup I did...at the request of my daughter who wanted art for her new apt. She's all about the word fight (spent many years fighting with me - and now fighting for me - a better use of the word

and she's all about PEACE so I was inspired to paint the br ca ribbon with a peace sign inside. The whole generation reminds me of the hippies of yesteryear. Peace out - man. (Hopefully not sex drugs and rock n' roll or any ludes). lol.

Andrea Barnett Budin · 10-05-2008, 01:55 PM

I feel your strength. And your pain. Loved this poem when I first read it. Still gives me chills as it lends me determination to overcome. Your words are breathtaking. They tell the story of my life. Of every woman with stage four breast canser's life. Every crevice of our thoughts, our feelings, our realities and our losses.

Your painting has an Essence I think. I see it! It is a living entity. And it sings. Full of beauty, harmony and Spirit. With peace and honor, courage and valor at its very heart.

I love your creations. And YOU, Flori, Flori, Morning Glory! Never give up. Never give in. Fight on with the purest of Universal LOVE at your core!

Andi