Don't Name Them.

Cherry
Poem of the week

By Mentalelf

Sat, 06 Mar 2021
  • 2505 reads
8 comments
 

Dedicated to all the Teens and young people on wards 33 and 32 Leeds LGI Teen cancer ward, which became our second home, and where we made friends forever as David went through his own battle. 

 

 

Don’t name them

 

Don’t name them

Too many names

No names

Names can

Be missed

Your name

Their name

So no names

No religion

All faiths die

No colour

Whats colour

No country

No wealth

It doesn’t

Matter

No language

No measure

of intelligence

All tongues

Are stilled

For life's

Accounting

 

You

Child with

Leukaemia

You are beautiful

You child suffering

Sarcomas

You are

Beautiful

Over there 

Child with

Broken chromosome

You are beautiful

I don’t need your

Label

To know your 

Beauty

I know your beauty

We know

Your beauty

See your beauty

Feel your beauty

Thank you

For sharing

For giving

Your beauty

Your unfathomable

Courage

Allowing us to

Love you.

Certificate 15
Poem
Autobiographical
Spiritual

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This one would sound great as a performance piece - thank you for posting it Mental - and nice to see something new from you

 

Submitted by Mentalelf on

I think he would be proud to be a US serviceman. But he would have followed my path into war. I've posted a series of poems about one of my wars. "The Falklands". But he was a peaceful guy and serving wasn't for him, he was destined for Oxford University to study Medical Research. But as for the fight you know that feeling of possible death.... these kids face it down and laugh. A young girl opposite 16 yrs was told she was terminal so she just got on with shit, she planned her own service, the women would all wear polka dots! She chose the music. and she kept smiling. Ive seen brave men and women but this.... this is how these kids were. My own son, at the end as I cradled him pulled the oxygen mask from his face and said "I'm sorry to put you through all this dad"!

Then soon after he pulled the mask off again and said "I'm ready to go now dad". I was a single parent. I thanked him for allowing, giving me so much love and gave him permission to leave us. But ALL those teens we knew were the same, mentally they could serve in anyones army. Thank you for the comment from an old brother.

Kia Kaha (Maori .... "stay strong")

Submitted by airyfairy on

This is uplifting, Mentalelf.  And what a beautiful picture.  Humbled by David's strength, and yours.

Submitted by Mentalelf on

Thanks for your kind comments, i've been to war but I learned true bravery from those kids. Of sixteen families we grew close to on the ward (Teen Cancer Ward 33 Leeds LGI) only two remains with us. 

Kia Kaha (Maori .... "stay strong")

Submitted by airyfairy on

This wonderful piece is our Poem of the Week. Congratulations!

Submitted by luigi_pagano on

Very well done, congratulations on your poem being chosen as a Pick of the Week.yes

Best, Luigi 

 

Submitted by Mentalelf on

It was so emotional sitting next to my son who I lost after a nine month fight, looking accross at all these teens and children facing death and laughing, and there is a beauty in that hairless, alabaster look that evens all out. They all become at that age quite androgenous... but the bravery was crushingly humbling. 

 

Kia Kaha (Maori .... "stay strong")

Submitted by celticman on

poem of the week, congratulations. small things matter because they can become big things when we're not looking.