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For over half your life
The Dream has been
To live in
New York City
Centre of the universe
Land of the Broadway musical
The most sung about
Danced in locale
On the face of the earth
Your childhood
Disney musical diet
Led you to believe that
You meet the prince
You fall in love, and,
Your dreams come true
But what if
Cinderella
Escapes her broom
Marries the prince
Moves into the castle, and
Gets cancer?
Because you have
Escaped your hometown
Fallen in love
Married your sweet prince
Moved to New York
And gotten cancer
And it changes everything.
You're finally living in the city of your dreams
Broadway is a subway ride away
But you can't ride the subway
Because your immune system is compromised
Because it was wiped out and replaced with stem cells from your sister
After you had three rounds of chemo
After you stood in a contraption,
Your arms tied in straps
Your waist cinched in a harness
Lest you collapse,
Fifty shades this ain't
Fifty shades of cancer treatment
Full body irradiation
That you can't feel, see, smell, or taste
But make you throw up your insides
And leave you feeling utterly, utterly drained and helpless
All that, after you were told
You. Have. Cancer.
Tell five years ago Me,
A year ago even,
Your dreams come true.
You live in New York
You marry a prince
(Truly, he's the most wonderful gentleman)
But you'll have to wait to
Really Enjoy It
No subways, no takeout,
No coffees in cafes in
Uptown, or downtown
Or even Brooklyn
No being in crowds
And definitely no Broadway.
We thought that
100 days post-transplant
I would have more freedom
So we waited out
Three months and a bit
A bone marrow biopsy
And two weeks more
To be told
My immune system is still weak
Crowds are dangerous
The subway is a seething cesspit of germs
All food needs to be cooked at home
Broadway will have to wait
A little longer
Life happens, as it does
And always will
Dreams do come true
Just in unexpected ways
With unexpected turns
You readjust and
Nurture the dream
Watch it on the shelf
And promise you'll take it down soon.
The Dream has been
To live in
New York City
Centre of the universe
Land of the Broadway musical
The most sung about
Danced in locale
On the face of the earth
Your childhood
Disney musical diet
Led you to believe that
You meet the prince
You fall in love, and,
Your dreams come true
But what if
Cinderella
Escapes her broom
Marries the prince
Moves into the castle, and
Gets cancer?
Because you have
Escaped your hometown
Fallen in love
Married your sweet prince
Moved to New York
And gotten cancer
And it changes everything.
You're finally living in the city of your dreams
Broadway is a subway ride away
But you can't ride the subway
Because your immune system is compromised
Because it was wiped out and replaced with stem cells from your sister
After you had three rounds of chemo
After you stood in a contraption,
Your arms tied in straps
Your waist cinched in a harness
Lest you collapse,
Fifty shades this ain't
Fifty shades of cancer treatment
Full body irradiation
That you can't feel, see, smell, or taste
But make you throw up your insides
And leave you feeling utterly, utterly drained and helpless
All that, after you were told
You. Have. Cancer.
Tell five years ago Me,
A year ago even,
Your dreams come true.
You live in New York
You marry a prince
(Truly, he's the most wonderful gentleman)
But you'll have to wait to
Really Enjoy It
No subways, no takeout,
No coffees in cafes in
Uptown, or downtown
Or even Brooklyn
No being in crowds
And definitely no Broadway.
We thought that
100 days post-transplant
I would have more freedom
So we waited out
Three months and a bit
A bone marrow biopsy
And two weeks more
To be told
My immune system is still weak
Crowds are dangerous
The subway is a seething cesspit of germs
All food needs to be cooked at home
Broadway will have to wait
A little longer
Life happens, as it does
And always will
Dreams do come true
Just in unexpected ways
With unexpected turns
You readjust and
Nurture the dream
Watch it on the shelf
And promise you'll take it down soon.
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