Suzin Glickman: "Presently" Living

Suzin Glickman is a former Long Island girl, survivor, professor, lawyer, mother, wife and daughter who found writing and creative expression to be one of the most therapeutic and inspiring ways to cope and heal from her cancer diagnosis.  She is pleased to share some of her favorite original poems with the LBBC blog readers for our bi-monthly series, Living Beyond Breast Cancer’s Writer’s Corner.

Salad Bar Marred - April 2012

They all went to the salad bar

I stayed back

and watched from afar

A rush of emotion

Swelled

Over me

Just from watching

Their backs to me

A seemingly insignificant moment

Then came that haunting

Once more

It comes as hauntings do

When you least expect them

Catching you quite unprepared

At a moment unaware

Shaking me at my core

Tears welled up in my eyes

Feeling queasy

Muscles and nerves reacting

My thought

Alarmed

How can this be?

The four of them

Will go on without me

I watch them move along the line

A outsider

Watching

Spying on them

Like a fly on the wall

Not accepting

I could be dying

We are out

Having family fun

And I

Have come undone

All because it is all about

I want to be part

Not apart.

*          *         *          *          *

Life’s Adjustments - April 2012

Let’s talk about life’s adjustments

The ones we have to make

When life

Gives us strife

And of our expectations

There is a breach

Our original plans

We realize

We might not reach

Those hopes and dreams

Upon which for years

We made plans,

Had aspirations

We will have to compromise

Economics, jobs, relationships, religion, family, health

At first, all these have their allure

Some people have luck

That is for sure

But few can escape some kind of kink

In what is planned, I think

Hopefully, one can find a cure

When life drops upon you manure

And endure

And so these adjustments

We do not always easily or happily make

Are life’s big message

Hanging on our door

( sarcastic, “oh, goody”)

We are now mature.

*          *         *          *          *

Suzin is now “presently” living in the Washington D.C. area with metastatic breast cancer and all that comes with it. Suzin started blogging in January 2012 after her re-diagnosis, occurring just at the 5 year mark since her first round of breast cancer. Suzin hopes to strike a deal with whomever it concerns in regard to living in this condition for a long time, maintain her sense of humor and be present for her family. Her goal is for readers of her poems get an “Ah Hah! Me too! “reaction and that the poems make them smile and touch a chord as well. To read more of her work, visit her Blog, ” Suz’s Muzes.”

Head to the LBBC Event Page for more information on our “Writing the Journey” Fall Writing Series.

Tags: Learning from others, Living Beyond Breast Cancer