The Weight

for Tom T.

The slow weight of these summer days

is not what you expected to carry.

Just as you retired, that

cruel "C" has invaded your space.

The dreams you realized, up in the U.P.,

have begun to materialize

in that remote cabin in the woods,

improved by your skilled hands.

The slow wait of chemo will interfere,

but will restore you, just like the new leaves

that regenerate and expand every spring;

you, too will emerge from this diagnosis

with a renewed mission to remodel

your cabin and resume your life,

when the bright light of hope

shines again through your trees.

© 2022 Richard Havenga

Photo Credits: Carol Theoret  ~ (near Munising, Michigan)