Thursday, March 26, 2020

Remember That Time When


photo via Geoffrey Franklin on Flickr


Remember That Time When

Remember that time
when we played
long distance cribbage?

You, in California,
me, in Colorado.
We sent cards

back and forth
in the mail.
I can't recall

how to play,
not to mention
how or why

we chose this
absurdly random method
for staying connected.

Maybe that's it --
the big takeaway --
against all odds,

connect.

©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020


Remember That Time When



Remember That Time When

Remember that time when
I had breast cancer?
I do. Every day.

I am the one
in "one in five"
of breast cancer survivors

who had lymph nodes
removed from their armpit
and now have lymphedema:

"chronic painless swelling
in the arm." Chronic? Yes.
Painless? Not so much.

Please consider the pain
of the compression sleeve
all day, and then

the other compression "garment"
all night. And yet,
because of this expensive

(and I mean expensive)
"lingerie," I am constantly
reminded: I am alive.

I am still alive
twenty-two arm-swollen
years later. Alive, and

grateful.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020