Maureen Murphy Chodaba

I hope that your soul will be touched by my poem, Perhaps a Pearl. It is a story about a pendant that I was drawn to in a gift shop one day. It was a situation where I felt the energy pull at me until I realized I just had to have it. It was a rather magical experience, as it led me to meeting another breast cancer survivor. The two of us shared our experiences and would go on to participate in an event that raised breast cancer awareness in our community.

It seemed to have a life of its own, as an eye that watched me.

I walked away. Like a magnet, it drew me back.

But it was not a magnet at all. It was perhaps a pearl. A black pearl.

Elegant in style, breathtaking in hue, adorned with sparkling stars. It spoke of resilience, magnitude and hope. It told me I needed it, and that it would serve me well.

It found its home at rest upon my neck. And then the magic began…

My life had been touched by breast cancer. First among those I loved…and lost. Such pain. Such sadness. Such loss.

Then that demon invaded my body, too…SUCH evil! SUCH disease, SUCH utterly unflinching disease!

“You, be gone now, and do not come back!” And with that, the beast was gone.

I learned there had been another black pearl, the same as mine that found its home before. I met the lovely one who displays this pearl with beauty, worn close to her heart. I learned that she, too, was a warrior who learned to slay that audacious beast known as breast cancer.

Who knows the magnetism, the energy that drew us both to these beautiful pearls? Perhaps we were destined to meet. Perhaps the power of healing will flow between our souls with our pearls as vectors.

It is an incredible thought and one that is sometimes quite arduous to believe…

But the Universe is amazing as it brings us together in healing, in faith and in hope.

Perhaps there really are no coincidences. Perhaps there is something much more than eyes can see, than ears can hear, than touch can feel, connecting us, binding our souls. Healing us. Perhaps…

…There is a place where science cannot reach.

There is great force of healing in our Universe. Be still…Behold…Believe…Become. We tap its strength to embrace the miraculous. Some call it Energy. I call it God.

This poem was originally submitted for the CURE® 2021 Poetry Contest. Submissions are open until August 15 and poems can be submitted

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A woman dedicates a poem to the experience of meeting a fellow breast cancer survivor.

Maureen Murphy Chodaba

Perhaps a Pearl: An Experience That Led to Meeting Another Breast Cancer Survivor

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