Cancer Took My Aunt Poem by Jay Crown

As a small tumor it started,
During her second trimester of labour,
Ooh! my poor uneducated aunt,
She thought it was just a harmless abscess,
Easy to drain once it ripens.

Days and weeks fast passed,
The 'abscess' remained intact,
But she didn't think much,
Thinking it just needed more time,
And it will ripen at last.

Then her child came,
So cute, Zakia was her name,
An angel she thought she'd watch as it grows,
But one thing she failed to notice,
The tumor on her abdomen had grown alot.

The tumor had persisted,
So she resort for medical assistance.
The doctor examined her,
And a solemn expression carved his face,
Before dropping the news, 'Am afraid you have cancer.'

But my aunt didn't flinch,
She thought Cancer was like malaria,
That it will go away with medication.
'It's okay if you're out of drugs, ' she said.
'Just tell me and I'll buy over the counter.'

Days passed and the disease advanced,
Her mother afraid of her daughter to lose,
Started seeking help from traditional healers,
And searched for divine healing from religious leaders,
'My daughter is being bewitched, ' so she thought.

Then my dad came in the situation to save,
Took her for a medical professional to face,
But the doctor told him with an expressionless face,
'Am sorry it's already too late,
The situation cannot be saved.'

I remember the last time I visited her,
How she thanked me for checking on her for the last time,
The despair in her eyes after realizing she'd die.
How she forced a smile despite being in great pain.
My beloved aunt, my heart aches whenever I think of her last moments.

Cancer snatched away my lovely aunt,
Food was leaking from her raptured illeum,
A very painful death she died,
With tears streaming down her eyes,
For the two months old child she was leaving behind