A year ago today my life changed

A year ago today I heard that word

Echo through my being

Making my skin crack

My nose bleed

My hair fall away

My heart break

My stomach ache

A year ago today they said

Cancer

A year ago today

I took the deepest breath

Stepped into that long, white corridor

Put my life in someone else’s hands

But held my hope in my own.

A year ago today

I changed the way I walked

The way I saw my future

A year ago today the light dimmed

My body changed

Pieces fell away

Broken, gone forever

A year ago today

I learned to stand upright,

To grow taller, to breathe deeper.

A year ago today

I made my life better

I chose to run

Not to fall.

To love

Not to fail

To be whole

Not to shatter

To reach out

Not to let go.

I made it all matter

A year ago today.