Perhaps he was aware of it:
something within gnawing at him.
The seed that was sown long ago
in reckless habit,
grew into deadly addiction,
coiling around him: a boa constrictor
never unwinding its grip.
When tested positive,
he shrugged off his diagnosis;
but his eyes showed it: a shade of fear
darkening the outward care-free air.
His face seldom betrayed pain, grief
he endured on the private ward bed.
Drugs, lingering hope gave him strength,
but it was a battle unequal to stop
his cells multiplying, life ebbing out.
The desire to live gradually yielded
to a stoic acceptance of the door
relentlessly opening into the dark.
And, when the end came, he convulsed
for the last time, lay still,
the half-open eyes as if pleading
not to let him die.
*Based on a real life story
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Very touching narrative of the plight and turmoil of thoughts of a patient suffering from a deadly disease and his ultimate demise.