Losing a Piece of Myself

Though not really that old, living piece of my face cut away, Tissue sacrificed hoping that Basil cell cancer is cleared Never much for the beach scene, a tan has just lost its appeal And those chemical skin dyeing tan shops now seem better deal. You remember the real thing you wanted so much it was strange? The romanticized look of the Marlboro Man on his horse Knowing well that this fictional guy played to our fantasies Between sun burns and cigarettes, barker of home deep in range. A loose tooth’s not the same though as losing a piece of yourself For just starters most teeth have a spare that fills in when we’re young But the loss of a breast is a shock for both woman and man Though man’s feelings about this most visible loss go unsung. Have you thought about losing your voice, sense of touch, or of sight? To lose hearing or taste, looks or laugh, would be terrible right? There’s an absence of balance that teeters when things disappear Like a beer without fizz that lies flat on the tongue and can’t dance. But would losing your mind truly be all that bad if it came? I’ve heard hospital food doesn’t kill you as fast anymore. For the way the world’s going at least you’d escape without blame And no family bothers to tell you how you missed the boat. But the piece of yourself that you don’t want to lose most of all Is the woman or man who stayed close by your side through each squall, Facing hardship and pain, when there’s nothing to gain, you now see That for all of their faults there’s no place on earth they’d rather be. Brian Johnston September 26, 2015