poem – Poetry In Time

On Saturday, Oct. 19, 2-4 p.m., at the Seattle Central Public Library (1000 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA 98104) poets will read their poems about and take their stands against hate and bigotry.

My contribution will be “Stigmatized and Written Off,” a poem from my full-length (unpublished) cancer poetry memoir. This poem first published on OncoLink.com last month. It touches on the stigma of chronic or terminal disease.

Our culture glorifies youth and often stigmatizes the sick. We don’t deal well with death or the dying either. Oftentimes, cancer patients are dumped by friends and spouses. Also, they can be discriminated against, even by healthcare providers who make global assumptions based on cancer diagnosis. My poem brings these things to light.

Meanwhile, cancer patients are living. This diagnosis is different for each patient with specific circumstances of individuals. Plus, every human dies…we don’t know when. So what’s the deal with this type of discrimination and disempowerment? Let’s get real – disease happens, and to those who take good care of themselves too. A person isn’t a disease nor a disability. A person is a person is a person is a person.

Stigmatized and Written Off

Three close friends of mine opt out.
The last thing said, It’s treatable right? 
Yesterday I read an athlete obit,
Younger man dies in a kayak accident.
So alive was he, everyone in shock,
His abrupt memorial packed no doubt.
But what of those who linger on?

Letting go is a large lesson
In life and death facing.
There’s almost an inward scoff, 
No more energy for outward response
To those unconsciously saying,
Sorry that you’ve got cancer cells
Running all over your body,
Or, So, you’re going to do the
Killing yourself thing to live.
Yes, these things are said.
Surprised? By ignorance,
False confidence, in a culture 
That worships youth and wealth?
Well, I don’t plan to die just yet –
Is that okay with you?
And not every subsequent health issue
Is another cancer—Sorry,
Does this disappoint your need 
To assume that for me it’s all over?

I’m folding myself into poetry batter,
Yes, writing myself in
For whatever time I have to spend,
And with those friends who 
Will have me outlive them.
Dumped due to an impending death –
You’re damn right I care about that.
Aren’t we all headed that way?
Most don’t deny and set me aside.
I thank God for this every day.

By Laura E. Garrard, Copyright 2024

My poem, “Contrast,” was selected to exhibit in the 2024 Poetry in the Park in Webster Woods of the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center. The theme was “Colorization,” and how what humans place in Nature affects our responses to and experiences in Nature. One aspect of this marriage, a negative one, has stood out to me late winter into spring – the contrast of naturally occurring white color against green (stark beauty) and trash on the drive between my house in Olympic National Park and Port Angeles, especially along the curvy drive next to magnificent Lake Crescent.

So, this could be considered an ecopoem as well as a witness poem. I hope it brings attention to locals and visitors how litter detracts from our outdoor experiences, even as we drive, and encourages behavioral change. I have never lived in a place with this level of disregard and disrespect for the land in the form of littering. I hate to criticize, however, perhaps locals have become blind to this issue. I discovered that the Park Service plans a clean-up along Hwy 101 next to Park property. They will have to close areas of the road to safely do this. Perhaps then, there may be an effort of other clean-ups along the highway.