Determined to Survive

Childhood was filled with cotton candy treats, picking flowers at school, and playing in the streets.

It sure felt complete.

Reality struck when the veil of happiness fell.

A phrase was uttered that one would wish to never tell.

“You have cancer.”

Those words hit like a boulder.

In that moment, I looked over my shoulder;

The colors of the world I once knew began to fade.

I was enveloped by isolation;

Locked in a box of white nothingness as I frantically looked each way.

Left, Right, Up, Down;

There were obstacles to be faced all around.

Near-death brought grey skies.

A cancer-free declaration brought happiness and highs.

Ambition engulfed me as I pursued a future in which I would thrive.

Near-death hit again;

Like a flash before my eyes.

I knew in that moment;

I was determined to survive.

Today, this poem sits before your eyes;

A concrete validation that the colorful world I once lived in has returned;

I have survived.