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This poem, like the poem ICE CREAM BRAIN, is about brain damage caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Once again, the present tense situation of the poem is a combination of the reality of the immediate moment and the anticipated promise, if we can call it that, of the future.
MY CONCEPTUAL SIEVE cancer poem in Genghis Lotus Poetry Collection, a selection of poems free to read online. The Genghis Lotus poems are hosted at two locations, genghislotus.com and zenvirus.com/genghis-lotus/. Webmaster for both sites is poet Hugh Cook, born in Britain, educated in New Zealand, and the author of, amongst other works, the fantasy series Chronicles of an Age of Darkness. |
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The emphasis is water. Flux. Well short of death, Rigidities Play worm and warpmold With my spongiform granite. My thoughts have fewer crowbars, More opulent skids. Ideas are easier, Self-lubricating decay states Feigning sophistication. "Clockwork" rewrites itself as "cardboard", Using my hand. "Press star," says the voice mail, Informing me To use hash. That granted, I still know That all butter is not peanut, That the moon Tastes nicer in the night. That, of ice cream, I like the orange chocolate chip the best. I know that ships float water, That flowers breathe air. I know that coffee is a drink, Not just a stain. I know that Mozart is not a chewing gum, That Bill Gates does not own Enron or Big Ben. I know my name is not Giraffe, That my knees are not my elbows, That all the tablets lined up on the table Are medications, mine. I know The telephone has numbers. And know My hands in number Are significantly fewer than five. The noodles boiling in the saucepan Wargame the outcome of my brain. I will retain a tongue. That's certain. But syllables? Let me get back to you on syllables, Later. Meantime, The cicadas remember The habits of their reincarnation For my benefit. Their song is forever So I cannot forget it. As for up and down, Gravity can assist me, If I misremember, With an always-at-the-ready aide memoire. And, on top of this, all is not lost While I can still recognize this leprechaun as my daughter. |
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May be photocopied for classroom use |
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Paperback Book or US $5 PDF file |
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CANCER POEMS: poetry about having cancer, about pressing on with life, about facing death and thinking about mortality, and about suffering damage from radiation therapy, this being in the form of brain damage and partial blindness. Don't miss the praise poem for Saddam Hussein, SADDAM IS GUILTY
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CANCER MEMOIR: read the full text of the brain cancer memoir Cancer Patient free online. Initial problems, diagnosis, neurosurgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and the achievement of remission. Read free online or buy as a paperback book from Amazon.com.
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CANCER BLOG: following remission, brain cancer seems to have returned. Further investigations follow. The author investigates the mechanism of his death. The author's deteriorating vision turns out to be the consequence of radiation therapy, not the return of cancer. Blog entries deal with survivorhood issues including dealing with degraded vision and with brain damage caused by chemo and radiation. The online entries are part of the literary miscellany This Is A Picture Of Your God, available from Amazon.com.
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