I was a lonely, lifeless body, wrought with anger, full of pain;
My psyche was en empty shell, no thoughts to entertain.
For years I gave my heart away, and with it went my soul.
My body shattered from within, I was no longer whole.
I asked for nothing in return, and yet the price was high.
For what is the price of friendship, if one has to live a lie.
When Cancer showed its deadly claws and tore my world apart,
The sudden loss of friendship struck a blow to my heart.
And I was left to fight alone, in anger and despair.
A mutilated body, was more than I could bear.
Despite my pain and suffering, I found the strength I never knew,
Surrounded by my family, and their love so deep and true.
And in amongst my torment, my anxiety and inner strife,
I found in me a will to live, and a boundless love of life.
With help I searched for what I’d lost, my mind became aware.
My psyche found amidst my paints, hidden by a canvas bare.
My soul yearned to be released through the rhythm of the word,
And as my heart returned to me its joy could be heard.
I shed the chains of anger, walked away from my prison of pain.
I found the light of peace and calm, and learned to love again.
Now I face the challenge of life with a different attitude,
I treasure the love of family, and the serenity of solitude.
The simplest pleasures in life were there for me to find;
The unrequited love of my two truest friends,
Those of the four-legged kind.
My canine friends ask little of me, except their daily care,
And in return the greater joy has made me more aware.
I make the time for selfish things, to paint, to write, to pray;
With lightened heart and truer soul, I see the light of day.
P. Coracas © 12.03.2001