*
My friend, the poet Julia Kanno, wrote this poem for my wife Dianne Robitaille. Dianne is at our home and is receiving hospice care. Julia is one of Dianne’s great caregivers. Julia writes: “I am the mother of two amazing young men ages 27 and 17. I am from Appalachia and Botswana. I am an artist and also work in healthcare. I have self-published with my co-pilot levin pfeuffer two books of prose a storm is cuming and The hardest helmut. My first reading was done at Northeastern University and since then I have read at the Somerville Armory two times. I consider myself an introverted artist/writer. I give birth to my works including those that have been displayed at the Decordova Museum as well as Howard University and local gems such as The Middle East and Out of the Blue gallery. I will be published in Tell magazine featuring my textiles and art in the spring. Currently, I am studying behavioral science and psychology because there is a need for more people of color to be there for people of color to help end the stigma of seeking mental health.”

SHE
Has Cancer

Julia Kanno

Good morning
My alabaster queen
Your smile
Gives me ignition for life
I wash you gentle
Like a newborn
Checking every fold and crevice
And i brush your perfect teeth
And gums
And tongue
You make me laugh,
From the gut
Even with slurred speech
From this fucker called cancer
I wish i had an answer
For this catatonic disaster.
When you speak
Your hands dance in the air
I am thrilled you grew back your hair.
You speak of how you hate winter
And how you adore your man
Sometimes we sit in silence
With only the sound of a dusty fan.
I wonder who you were before
The beast got inside
When i said i was not said
I am a fake and I lied
Cleaning your waste
Is an honor
I wish you could see the rain
You have aged me
I want to absorb your pain.
You have taught me
And i am willing to learn
After your loss
Forever I will yearn

— Julia Kanno

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