Chased to Be Silenced

Waiting for the next word
That could silence me forever,
Creeping closer,
A shadow
With no name,

Like a black widow draped in lace,
Stalking the quiet corners,
Pacing in the suffocating stillness,
Blood-hungry,
Moving towards me,
Looking for a new donor.

It feels like
You’ve been struck by lightning speed,
Your body a live wire,
Hyper-alert.

Heat surges within you,
Like a kettle screaming to boil.
Your heart races,
A tiger chased
Through the wilderness of your ribs.

You want the race to be over.

It comes uninvited,
Like a thief who
Knocks at your door,
Eyes veiled,
Without a trace.

It wants to say something,
But you won’t know the meaning
Of its scripted words.

No title for this restless feeling,
No manual to understand this pain.

The sound of the word
I’ve been waiting for,
Emerging from the distance.

Its effects are unsettling:
At first, a deep numbness,
An air of anesthesia
Settling in
For a moment.

Then your internal tsunami waves
Drag you along.

Maybe there is no way to recover.

Finally,
The designated doctor arrives,
Bringing the news.

Stars explode behind your eyes.

The biopsy is blunt:
It’s cancer.

Two words hang,
Surgical and clean.

A gut-wrenching void
That you don’t have
An iron shield to cover.

Before the volcanic storm
Within you spills over,
A hopeless, melancholic melody
Plays in your mind,

Persuasive,
Urging you to sit,
To surrender,
To cease the fight.

Caught in the grip
Of a fatal endeavor,
Yet within you,
A deep ocean
Of stillness rises.

A solemn inspiration awakens,
Compelling you
To face your fears:

To stand up and fight,
Never surrender,

Refusing to let
The next silence
Claim you forever.