Remembering Cancer

She always sat by the windows during class.

Some days she was outspoken and other times she sat quietly and observed.

She wasn't from DC.

So we could never bond over Chuck Brown, super jumbo wings from the carry out or even call people "bamas" and say they were "lunchin."

Chicago, the south side was where she claimed to be.

From what I remember, her poetry wasn't always on the profound concious level tip.

Her poetry wasn't flat neither.

They were words.. her words.

I once thought they were real.

Deep down to the bone true.

Until I began to get a feeling.

She was hiding.

Finally what she had buried long ago was starting to show.

Medina asked us to write a poem based on death or loss of a loved one...

Or was the topic simply on cancer?

Either way she refused to write.

She blurted out

"I lost my mother at a young age. I can't write about that."

However old she was, I sensed the death was still fresh... still too new.

Medina urge her write, but she simply refused.

Eventually she vented on paper.

I don't even remember if she shared with the class.

Medina made us do that from time to time.

Still, I was too wrapped up in my own misery to stick around to see what became of her.

I just remember my poem on "cancer".....

It was something like this...

A piercing pain stabs my womb

Induced labor, I'm forced to deliver love

Stillborn

For love was conceived under false pretenses

Self indulged

All in the name of fun

I was told to cleanse myself of such

Nuisance

Yet, I was seasoned to his thinking

He sucked me dry, robbing me of my vitality

The Cancer

Born under the fourth sign, but he left under the ninth

Life

I was left barren

 - Tiffany Browne (Mahoganie), Robbed Life, written October 21, 2003.

I wonder what became of her.

I wonder if she ever made peace with her mind.

Will she ever feel comfortable with her loss?

She came to mind today.

Not sure why.

Clear as day she was sitting in her same spot in the classroom

By the window.

Yellow bookbag with Howard Dean for President stickers plastered to it.

She was Dean's cheerleader.

I wonder what became of her.