Fear of the upcoming heart scan
Fear of all the medical bills
Fear of mom worrying all the time
Fear of what it did to grandma when I told her
Fear of the upcoming chronic pain
Fear more hair will fall out
Fear I’ll have a flare up
Fear they won’t be able to do anything about it
Fear I’ll suffer the after effects
Fear I won’t be able to have kids
Fear I won’t be able to afford it
Fear it will be compared to AIDS
Fear I will be judged
Fear my job will find out and I won’t get a full time position
Fear because this is the time where it’s supposed to be most dangerous
Fear because it’s hereditary
Fear I won’t be able to keep up
Fear no one else will understand my pain
Fear of fearing this many things
Fear there isn’t enough research
Fear there’s no cure
Fear that I got it such a young age
Fear that I hate fear this much
Fear of Lupus by Tatiana Flowers
Ode to a Bald Head by Jane Freeman
No need to blow-dry, curl, dye, or comb.
Instead, the beauty of the colorful silk scarves slip gracefully to expose the
shiny orb.
Coverless-
Stares-averted eyes validate her struggle to curious strangers.
Shopping for floppy hats, wigs,-masquerades-is tiresome.
Filed under Writing
Workshop Writing
Most of this work has been created by writers during my expressive writing workshops. Some work was written by writers in other settings but the writing still relates to illness or cancer. All of the work has been posted with permission.
Filed under Writing
What are You? –Writing Prompt- “I am”
From poemcrazy by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge:
Jot down in a list the first thing you see when you ask yourself,
If I were a color, what color would I be? (From red to the inside-of-a-watermelon-seed color.)
What shape would I be? (Whatever you see – an airplane wing shape, a boot shape, a parallelogram, a cone, a diamond.)
If I were a movement, what movement would I be? (glide, hop, wiggle, spin)
What sound?
What animal?
What song?
What number? (infinity, googolplex, eight, sixteen)
What car? (Details: year, color, condition)
What piece of furniture?
What food?
What musical instrument?
What place?
What element in nature? (dust, galaxy, waterfall)
What kind of a tree?
What’s something I’m afraid of?
What’s the word hiding my eyes?
Put down the words I am…
Write about yourself using answers to the questions above as well as using strong verbs (such as: spin, clarify, fiddle, fling, dibble, lunge, slug, slam, spiral, rehearse, splurge, balance, value, love, leap, stop, reply…)
Don’t think. See images. Daydream with words. Wander. Define yourself.
If you get tired of I am, start lines with
I will be
I want to be
I used to be
I let go of
I’ve forgotten
I remember
Filed under Prompt of the Day
NY Times article–Faces of Breast Cancer
Filed under Articles
Writing Prompt-Helping Hands
Finding support helps you feel less alone on the cancer journey. List a few experiences where someone helped you (perhaps unexpectedly). Write for 15 minutes describing one or more of those experiences of kindness or friendship (Bray, 2006).
Filed under Prompt of the Day, Uncategorized
Link: Interview with Karin Miller–The Cancer Poetry Project
Here’s an interesting interview with Karin Miller, the editor of the Cancer Poetry Project Anthology.
Interview with Karin Miller, Editor of The Cancer Poetry Project Anthology
Filed under Uncategorized
Healing Through Writing at Ruth Keeler Memorial Library
I will be leading a writing workshop for cancer patients, survivors, and family members at Ruth Keeler Memorial Library in North Salem, NY beginning September 20th at 10:00am. It will be held the third Friday of every month from 10:00am-11:30am. No writing experience is necessary and all are welcome. Healing Through Writing flyer
Filed under Uncategorized