Metastasis

    by David Anthony Sam

Somewhere inside,

my cells become

my enemy.  They

grow faster than

they should.  They

eat what is vital

so that they can eat

even more.  There

are days just before

chemo when I almost

forget their

voracious hunger.

One moment to be

alive, or two, as

I was before

the rebellion of my

remaking self.

The days following

chemo are when death

seems certain.

My chemical tears

beg for more, more

days, more breaths,

more moments to hold

each living piece

of world in my arms.

The days following

chemo invade my

bones with hurt,

twist my eyesight

crooked.

It is just a matter of time —

it has always been

a matter of time.

How much I squandered

it before such

hungry cells

awakened me to

forever.

© 2015  David Anthony Sam

David Anthony Sam has written poetry for over 40 years and has two collections, including Memories in Clay, Dreams of Wolves (2014). He lives in Virginia with his wife and life partner, Linda, and currently serves as president of Germanna Community College. In 2014-15, he had poems accepted by American Tanka, Artemis Journal, The Birds We Pile Loosely, Carbon Culture Review, The Crucible, FLARE: The Flager Review, From the Depths, Heron Tree, Hound, Literature Today. On the Rusk, Piedmont Virginian Magazine, The Scapegoat Review, The Summerset Review, and The Write Place at the Write Time.