Chemotherapy

Her body betrayed her.
Cancer ravaged her.
Treatments tormented and nearly killed her.

She wanted to give up,
wanted the pain to end,
she wanted oblivion.

Internal aches and feelings of hopelessness,
longing for release, she searched the Internet
for a friend instead.

Someone interesting,
his friendly hello and endless rambles,
his passion for life and art,
his drive to learn all things nature and science,
and his rage at those who pull the strings
in big business and the government,
fascinated her.

She quickly fell in love,
but, like a frightened butterfly,
her words scared him away.
He was not ready for her.

Time passed.
Demands of family and work the only releases.
Internet friend was still on her list
but had not appeared online in some time.
Chemo treatments continued.

One day, there he was online again.
Surprised, he hesitated but replied,
"Hello Victoria, how are you?"
He was now committed to Lilies
but he would be a friend.

More time passed.
She listened often but did not talk a lot.
He wondered why she was so quiet.
Finally, she told him, ovarian cancer.

In her worst days to follow, he was there.
He made her fight to live and dream.
He helped her to keep going,
Not fantasy love but at least he cared.
Still friends after her last chemo treatment,
the story continues on.

By Michael A. Crane, Jr.
Original Version: June 16, 2002
Version 4: December 5, 2002
Some stanzas adjusted for consistency across devices: June 22, 2019
www.macjr.com