JoelJosol Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 It started with a simple disclosure:'I have a tumor in my lymph nodes.'I looked at you, calculating my words,their tone, their weight, to match yours.'It is not even Stage 1.'I thought I saw something in your eyesthat reminded me of mornings after my wife and Ihad quarreled- a search for hope, a different life.'The chemo is not working. One gallon of liquidwas taken out of my lungs.'So you and this went on like husbands and wives do,except from this you couldn't divorce.I heard your violent coughing,echoing the pain I never knew.Today, a brief statement was sent outto all of us friends,that you passed away 8:30 am-the moment when death did us part. Quote "Words are not things, and yet they are not non-things either." - Ann Lauterbach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_con Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 Beautiful JJ. Sad, moving, an exceptional piece. Many thanks for this tribute. Juris Quote thegateless.org Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Oh Joel, This is a powerful piece in which pain takes center stage. Beautifully sad. ~~Judi Quote ~~ © ~~ Poems by Judi Van Gorder ~~ For permission to use this work you can write to Tinker1111@icloud.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelJosol Posted August 16, 2020 Author Share Posted August 16, 2020 Juris, Judi. Thanks for the appreciation. So many of my friends and family succumb to cancer. I am glad that I was able to articulate the emotions of pain of the cancer patient and the ones they left behind. Quote "Words are not things, and yet they are not non-things either." - Ann Lauterbach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyv Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Joel, I'm sorry. This one is too much. I read it, and I don't even want to think any more about it. Powerful. Tony Quote Here is a link to an index of my works on this site: tonyv's Member Archive topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelJosol Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share Posted September 20, 2020 Tony, thank you for reading, for allowing me to share the humanity of seeing friends lost to cancer. Quote "Words are not things, and yet they are not non-things either." - Ann Lauterbach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David W. Parsley Posted November 9, 2020 Share Posted November 9, 2020 Coming along late to this piece, Joel, experiencing the immediacy of denial in the struggle to recover, the ultimate failure and loss. My feelings are much like Tony's. There is no hiding from the pain, it just takes the reader down to the mat of his soul without fanfare. Thank you for finding the clarity and courage to write this. And for sharing it here. Sympathy, - David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoelJosol Posted November 12, 2020 Author Share Posted November 12, 2020 Thank you David. The cancer victim here is a close friend of mine. I tried to capture my personal witness of his journey. Quote "Words are not things, and yet they are not non-things either." - Ann Lauterbach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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