Get Your Premium Membership

Cancer Ward

Life, here hangs on a filmy thread of hope Unskilled acrobats, making tight rope walks With the deep chasm gaping below Some too fatigued to feel the stress Empty beds bearing The scars of lost battles, Shaded rooms brooding in the gloom, Pervading silence speaking mutely Of burnt hopes and dreams, The morbid stillness occasionally broken by Stifled groans and whimpers. In a corner room, he lay, A dead heap upon the bed, With no one to keep vigil, Loneliness, his only companion! Crowds of fans queued up once To have just a glimpse of him! Now suddenly grown older With all energy vanquished, He stares into the claws of Death. His frail emaciated body, Rejecting the drops of toxic drugs, The dried up neurons refusing To send signals to the brain, Eye balls sinking deep, Cheek bones sticking out, Tentacles of cancer tightening hold On every lobe of his lungs, He lay- on his bed, A dead log tossed by the currents Moving in and out of consciousness He finally slipped into the snares of Death. The vanquished soldier exited out, Sans songs, sans fanfare! ________________________________ Sept. 24.2022 Honorable mention in Brian's Contest ~ Placed First~ One from the Dark Side Poetry Contest Sponsor- John Lawless

Copyright © | Year Posted 2022




Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 2/20/2023 10:16:00 AM
Such a deeply truthful encounter with a sad aspect of ill health and impending death. Your words are biting, and make me shiver at the thought of what is to be seen in a cancer ward, and how sad it is to die lonely. If anything it may be a welcome release to some. You have a talent for taking the reader to the scene Valsa.
Login to Reply
Date: 2/18/2023 6:00:00 AM
Dark and yet so true. Powerful write. Congratulations on your win in Brian’s contest
Login to Reply
Date: 10/8/2022 10:55:00 AM
Wow, Valsa--that is a powerful poem! How sad that some end their life that way. I love your first two lines especially. So perfect. A wonderful poem. Congratulations on First Place!
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/9/2022 5:13:00 AM
Hi Ann, your sweet words have truly delighted me. Thanks a lot dear friend ....
Date: 10/6/2022 5:20:00 PM
Congrats on your win, Valsa, this is such a gripping narration of the loneliness and isolation a terminal cancer patient goes through as the end nears. Nicely penned. John
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/7/2022 1:58:00 AM
Thank you so much John for your encouraging comment and words of congratulations!
Date: 10/6/2022 5:33:00 AM
Congratulatiions, Valsa……on your trophy win. You have really captured in words the dread and helplessness most feel when face with a terminal disease. I witnessed it firsthand when I worked on a med/surg floor with Oncology the next ward over. Thankfully with new discoveries more people are overcoming cancer now. Blessings, SuZ
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/6/2022 6:24:00 AM
With first hand experience, you know how dreadful it is when one realizes that he is in the grip of a terminal disease. Let us hope and pray this villian will soon be vanquished. Thanks a lot Suzanne for your empathetic response.
Date: 10/5/2022 2:32:00 AM
(And cancer like a silence grows) the clinical approach taken here works so well Valsa, such a difficult disease to treat, let alone cure, but there is always hope that one day it will be resigned to the past, brilliant unflinching writing, congratulations, cheers David
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/6/2022 6:21:00 AM
How true.... ! Cancer sneaks into us silently and grows silently. By the time it is detected it is too late. With advancements in Medical science, we can hopefully believe that this monster will one day succumb. Thanks a lot David for your Congratulations.
Date: 10/5/2022 1:55:00 AM
Congrats! Thanks for sharing this... exposing sad reality through Your awesome poetic style. God bless you
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/6/2022 6:17:00 AM
Thanks a lot dear friend Beata . Let me admit openly, many of your poems are an inspiration to me to live a better life.
Date: 10/4/2022 9:31:00 PM
Valsa, CONGRATS on your well-deserved top win with this descriptive, heartwrenching poem. Your metaphors are so expressive. Janice
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/5/2022 1:47:00 AM
It is heartwrenching to see the last moments of a cancer patient ! Thanks a lot Janice for your sweet comment.
Date: 10/4/2022 5:11:00 PM
Congratulations on your trophy win, Valsa. I don't know how I missed this gem of poetry. Your win is amply deserved, enjoy your honor dear friend.
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/5/2022 1:45:00 AM
Thank you so much, dear friend. One cannot read all the poems. It is so natural to miss some.
Date: 10/4/2022 2:40:00 PM
This is excellent writing. The very personal challenges you've experienced definitely had a powerful influence on this piece. Well done Valsa and congrats on 1st place.
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 10/5/2022 1:43:00 AM
Thanks a lot Mark. I have seen the suffering of cancer patients and can guess the depth of frustration they undergo. Glad for your visit to my page and the comment.
Date: 9/27/2022 12:36:00 AM
This is such a sad piece Valsa. During my student nurse days I was working on a medical ward and sadly saw so many deaths to cancer. Your poem reminds me of one particular patient almost to a tee. He lived alone and his elderly brother had made a long trip up north to see him but was sadly too late. There are positive stories about people coping / beating cancer and I do feel there will be a cure all one day. I hope anyway. Cheers - Gary
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/27/2022 8:57:00 AM
Thanks a lot Gary for your empathetic response. Having had direct experience with cancer patients, you have witnessed the agony of many. Also the brave fight some have put up. As you hope, I too anticipate a time when cancer will finally accept defeat. Thank you for your kind visit.
Date: 9/25/2022 9:13:00 PM
wow, that is dark indeed. They wanted me to join the chemo ward, but I told them no because I felt radiation was more than enough. I am crossing my fingers six years later that I remain cancer free!
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/26/2022 12:41:00 AM
Hi Andrea, sorry to hear that once you were under its threat. After six years, let us hope that you are completely rid of its hold. Prayers for better health and thanks a lot.
Date: 9/24/2022 6:46:00 PM
What a haunting poem. And so sad that the character died alone.
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/25/2022 8:49:00 AM
Thanks a lot Mike. To meet the end without any body around is really miserable....
Date: 9/24/2022 6:39:00 PM
Sad and heartfelt piece Valsa so true for many families that have experienced this awful disease. Wish more people knew of Dr Max Gerson and his cancer cures they covered up his cure. He cured most cancers. A documentary was done on him and His daughter Charlote wrote a best seller. Healing the Gerson Way. My brother shared this book with his friend Doug who was given several months to live and He did what was recommended in the book and is still alive after 18 years. It was all about carrot
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/25/2022 8:47:00 AM
Glad to hear of Dr. Max's cure for Cancer ! Michael, I appreciate your sincerity and your large heartedness to help people in trouble. Keep up your good attitude. It will definitely make you dear to many. Thanks for your lovely response
Tor Avatar
Michael Tor
Date: 9/24/2022 6:40:00 PM
juicing and organic coffee enemas. No meats just vegetables. It really works for most cancers there are a few that it doesnt cure... Thanks for posting....
Date: 9/24/2022 11:27:00 AM
We've all lost someone to that terrible disease, just read yesterday they're injecting viruses into patients and there has been some amazing results with one patient complety free of it, they have a long way to go on finding a treatment for all cancers but it's a ray of hope. You captured the darkness of death well Valsa. Tom
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/25/2022 8:43:00 AM
Cancer has become so common now. Hope some remedy will be found out soon. The treatment you have mentioned gives some hope to the ones afflicted and those likely to suffer from it. Thanks a lot dear Tom
Date: 9/24/2022 10:28:00 AM
One always assumes that cancer is the worst illness one can have. But there are so many types of diseases that are worse than cancer. Take dementia, for example. My wife had it. God was kind and took her from heart failure. Best for a win.
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/25/2022 8:40:00 AM
Yes, you are absolutely right! Dementia is perhaps something I most dread. Without memory and a blnk brain, life will be miserable for the patients and the ones taking care of them. Sorry to know that your dear one suffered from dementia.
Date: 9/24/2022 9:23:00 AM
And nurses face up to this every working day! Very descriptive, Valsa! Aloha!
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/25/2022 8:36:00 AM
Yes, their fate is so sad.... ! Watching the pain and agony on a daily basis is so frustrating ! Thanks a lot Rico
Date: 9/24/2022 5:23:00 AM
Poignant hues of life: Of burnt hopes and dreams, The morbid stillness occasionally broken by Stifled groans and whimpers. Perfect description from the dark side, Valsa. Best to you.
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/24/2022 5:26:00 AM
Thanks a lot Vijay !If you feel that the description is apt, I am so glad ! Have a great weekend.....
Date: 9/24/2022 3:21:00 AM
This is SO sad, very tragic, beautiful and emotional Valsa. I remember my dad, though he was surrounded by all of his children and my mom, the description of how he looked brought back his image to me, a once strong man, ravaged. He left us a dying gift with his last word, "Victory." He had placed his hope in the saving grace of Jesus, and we know someday we will see him again. Death is so tragic for those who are surrounded by love, desperately tragic to die alone and forgotten. Well written <3
Login to Reply
George Avatar
Valsa George
Date: 9/24/2022 5:23:00 AM
Sorry B.J that my poem has revived sad memoris in you. The death of a dear one is always sad, especially if through a disease gradually tightening its tentacles on the victim ! Cancer is a dreaded word, though medical Science has improved to such an extent that there is remedy for everything. Glad your Dad had his children and his dear partner in life surrounding him in his last days, also that he could put up a brave fight placing absolute trust in God's assurance of a life eternal. Thanks sweet friend for your kind comment.

Book: Reflection on the Important Things