Transformations | Bonnie Burka Shannon - Appreciate Language and Form through the Best Contemporary Poetry

Their journey
Had just begun
Or so
It seemed
An existence
Consisting of
Gliding smoothly
From summer
To summer
Blessed with
Good health
Attractive façades
Toned bodies
And ample energy
All part of
Their summer package
At the beach
Then unexpected
Pain
Searing pain
That caused
An inability to float
With the
Summer breezes
Not the same summer
Not the same summer
At all
Health dilemma
Over soon?
They thought
While minimizing the
Diminished appearance
Weakened body and
Reduced energy
Of her soul
Then came alarm
Diagnoses absolute
Two intermingled findings
Stated In
Clipped tones
By a specialist
With little interest
Time catches up
They realized
With thoughts
Expressed wordlessly
In facial expressions
Hard to believe
Harder to accept
Even as bad news
Interrupted
With daunting diagnoses
She was
Not giving up
Never giving in
One step
At a time
Her brain said
One day
At a time
She told
Her friends
Visualizing cures
She pushed through mush
Though getting there slowly
Two steps forward
One step backward
But almost there
Almost there