Pre Sixth Month Jitters

Pre Sixth Month Jitters

I can lift my arms all the way

over my head now, a small miracle

remembering how it felt like I'd

become a T-Rex, tiny arms helpless

at my sides after the surgery

that rid me of the cancer,

freed me to live an authentic life…

the tomboy grown up and comfortable

with my own maleness

now integrated with the female boy

the sissy boy inside, like a peppermint

candy, multiple stripes, all me

but I'm still nervous to take this

still healing body for my sixth month

check up, like taking a car in for maintenance

to see if “bad roomie” might be trying

to make a reappearance, somewhere

little enemy, hiding out of sight, never out of

mind, just a thought, or a bruise I can't

remember where it came from, this ache

that pinch, there, there, there

and then I remember, most folks get five years

even with radiation and chemo and I did neither

and have my own healer team, my own chemo

wheatgrass, turmeric, spinning my chakras

as ordered by my naturopath, and the reiki

I stream everyday like lighting through this body

so I put worry in a drawer, take a deep breath, keep

moving, don't look at a certain date on my August calendar.

James A. Stansberry is a poet, philosopher, and Washingtonian.

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).

SHARING STORIES is featured on www.northwestprimetime.com, the website for Northwest Prime Time, a monthly publication for baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those contemplating retirement. The newspaper can be found in the greater Seattle area and other Puget Sound locations. For more information, call 206-824-8600 or visit www.northwestprimetime.com. To find other SHARING STORIES articles on this website type "sharing stories" in the search function above.