Survivor Poem by Lynn Anne Brown

I am a Survivor
I've paid my dues
And more
Because
I want to be
Part of Humanity
When it gets together
To make the best of what
It's got
It's taken
More than thirty years
To heal
The wounds
That ten years brought
And finally it took surgery
To remove the part
That the body
Itself
Could not
And I honour
The Science and Study
Of those
Who made it possible
For the Surgeon
And his team
To bring me back
From beyond deaths door
Eleven units of packed blood cells
Between February and September
I fed on Blood
For nearly half a year
Because
Otherwise
I would be dead
Then the surgery itself
Well two actually
The first one
They had to cancel
Because
'Well, it just didn't
Look that big on the sonogram'
When I asked afterwards
I was told
The surgery took nine hours
That the fibroid was the size of two rugby balls put together
And my best friend shared she had a vision
In which a part of me had gone
Also confiding
That she wasn't sure which part it was
And that she hoped it wasn't
The part she liked
Because Wounded Trust
A Damaged Heart
And a Depleted Body
Are very hard to deal with
And she dealt with quite a bit
As she helped me to a place
Where I could deal with it myself
And I was happy
And she was happy for me
When I finally got there
Some seven years
From the place
That we got started
And now she is onto
A different place
And I am happy for her
Though I miss her from time to time
And for the four years
I've been in a place
Where my soul
Has begun to grow again
And my trust has healed
And my heart is stronger
And my body isn't as weak
As it once was
And occasionally
It feels strong
And so I celebrate
The people
Who helped
To save my life

Thank you
I believe
That it's all been worth it.