My Mother

The day I heard,
I cried.
That six letter word.
Cancer.
It stung like a knife.
I couldn't stand the thought of losing you,
My mother,
My rock.
I was numb,
in shock.
But here was this fight,
one we had to win.
I couldn't let you down.
I couldn't let you die.
I couldn't bear to see you in pain,
the thought alone made me cry.
I couldn't lose you.
The years ahead,
I would need you most.
Through middle school,
high school,
college,
life.
I would need you.
My mother,
my rock.
You still had most of your life to go.
You were only thirty five.
You still had your best years ahead of you.
This is the fight,
we were destined to win.
Maybe to show our strength,
I don't know,
but you inspired me.
You stood there,
head held high.
The battle started,
March seventeenth.
The battle hasn't ended.
Your cancer is gone,
but the fight goes on.
You may be done,
with chemo,
surgeries.
But now,
it's our turn to help others,
others through this same fight.
The one that some lose.
Some give up.
They say it's too hard.
But you proudly say,
'I'm a survivor',
and show your battles scars.
Through the chemo we'd laugh,
we'd cry.
We had a new lease on life.
Because you never know,
when something,
anything,
will stop you in your tracks.
When you lost your hair,
you shrugged and said,
'It's only hair. I'd rather have my life.'
When you had your first surgery,
I cried.
When they removed it,
cancer and all,
you just shrugged and said,
'So what? I'd rather have my life.'
We laughed when you went bald,
and got your wig.
I think we laughed more than ever in those nine long months,
than we ever had before.
During that whole fight,
we had a new outlook on life.
But the fight isn't over.
For you, yes,
But we still fight,
fight for others.
The money,
the Relay For Life.
It's a fight,
a fight for a cure.
But that day,
I heard,
I thought my life was over.
But you didn't give up,
so neither did I.
I fought alongside you,
through all the pain,
because you are,
my mother,
my rock.