'Divided' Before a Cancer Diagnosis
A man writes a poem about an ex-girlfriend who discovered she had cancer.
After a short but passionate relationship of just four months, an ex-girlfriend and I broke up. I had fallen head over heels for her but ending our relationship had made sense at the time because of the compatibility issues we were having.
I eventually moved to another city, and thought I had left this all behind me, but matters of the heart are indeed complex and I missed her more and more as each day went out. Because she was so active on social media, it seemed like she didn’t care about our break-up and that she moved on fairly swiftly. I began to resent her and quietly wished I’d never met her.
Then I found out at the age of 30, she had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
We eventually reconciled and we are now on extremely good terms. However, this poem is a reminder of how ego and pride can often destroy our thinking, actions and most importantly, our soul. Always choose love. Always.
Divided
One day
She felt the lump.
One day
He wished
He’d picked up the phone.
And that his last words to her
Weren’t
"I wish I never met you."
This poem was originally submitted for the CURE® 2021 Poetry Contest.
For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.
