When the cancer came to our house
It entered through the back door
It snuck around the kitchen
Down the stairs and straight into
Our parent’s bedroom
No one saw it arrive
No one knew it was even near
No one knew to shed a tear
When the cancer came to our house
We were blithely oblivious
Our father worked away day to day
Our mother taught, thought and sought
Children came first and learnt without hurt
Life was as good as suburban life could
When the cancer came to our house
The doctor said it wasn’t
A young mother said it wouldn’t
A young father said it couldn’t
And the children had no notion of it at all
When the cancer came to our house
Our mother’s pain was hard to understand
Fatigue and irritability unexpected and unplanned
The right way to help couldn’t be defined
We’d often not know quite where to stand
As she rushed to the toilet or growled as she scanned
And we still didn’t know the cancer was at hand
When the cancer came to our house
An unborn child, sister to siblings
Was more important than knowing the findings
Was important to the future of life with the wildlings
Her death bereft being caught in such bindings
When the cancer came to our house
It was discovered way to late
To deliver our mother from her miserable fate
Of dying without respite
Of fading from the light
Of unbearable pain and strife
Of the shameful waste of her precious life
For this d'Verse prompt asking us to use "the house" as a subject for our poem, I apologise for breaking the rules. This is not imaginary, but I felt it had to be my response.
A most harrowing response and deeply carried through your words – the repetition especially emphatic, and peppered throughout such unobtrusive rhyme. Nothing to be said about this kind of pain.
seanmathews.blog 
Unbelievably deep, my emotions hard to control as I read your exquisitely composed poem.
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Thank you Helen. I guess it will always be emotional for me too.
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Awesome work indeed, Bro. Salute!
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Thanks for that very sad and heartfelt poem. I take it the photo is of Croydon – when was it taken? Iola
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A most harrowing response and deeply carried through your words – the repetition especially emphatic, and peppered throughout such unobtrusive rhyme. Nothing to be said about this kind of pain.
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Thanks Laura, I am glad it conveyed something of our experience.
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That’s a stunning piece of writing Sean – very beautiful, and absolutely heart wrenching. ❤
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Thanks Kate. It was a terrible time, but it does good to find a way to express it.
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A sad sad story, although you told it eloquently.
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Thanks Ron, it is goos to have a way to express the sadness.
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Thanks Ron.
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wow powerfully sad, you expressed it so well!
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It was a terrible time, but good to find a way to express it.
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exactly Sean, poetry/writing is very cathartic! A great way share our pain with others and to heal 🙂
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