After Surgery
Through the kitchen window, an Acer pseudoplatanus
regrowing its Brilliantissimum.
We both face the bite of a late spring morning:
tree, bold as brass – and me? Still here
somewhere under protective layers.
There’s hope in this hurting, I’m told.
Later, I take some lines for a walk,
listen for their breathing.
On reaching the end of active treatment
Do you check your composure for surface cracks?
Do you read a future between biopsy and excision lines?
Do you detect denial in healthy tissue?
Do you hold your breath between surveillance mammograms?
Do you test the elasticity of endurance?
Do you suspend disbelief in survival statistics?
Do you know the chemical formula for peace of mind?
Unfinished
for most invasive breast cancers occur
for incidence rates are
for breast cancer affects
for breast cancer is the most
for this is predicted
for, worldwide, it is estimated
for breast cancer is strongly related
for breast cancer is the highest
for breast cancer accounts
for since
for over
for breast cancer survival is
Jayne Stanton’s poems have appeared in print and online. She has written commissions for museums, for University of Leicester’s Centre for New Writing, International Women’s Day, and a city residency. A pamphlet, Beyond the Tune, was published by Soundswrite Press (2014).
For more information on Breast Cancer Awareness Month, visit:www.nicswell.co.uk