Poetry By Tawn Parent

      Ben Seidelman CC



Unrecognizable

Is this my son,
this boy who towers over me
but who I now outweigh?
His solid frame 
of two months ago
has withered.
I can feel his ribs
when we hug.

Is this my son,
who ran so fast 
and jumped so high,
but who can now 
barely climb the stairs?

Is this my son
with smudgy rings 
around lashless eyes,
which have a faraway look
that never goes away?

Is this my son
whose once-hairy legs
are now as smooth as a baby’s?
And like a baby,
I now tend him around the clock.

This teen, with his life
of friends, card games,
and ultimate Frisbee,
cruising toward adulthood,
suddenly entered freefall
and landed back in my arms.

No parties or field trips,
no joking around in history class.
Just hospital to home and back again,
glides this shadow
who my son
has become.

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Parent, a resident of Indianapolis, has been a professional writer and editor for 30 years. She has worked primarily for business publications, such as Indianapolis Business Journal, and also served as proofreader for two books. Her poetry has been published in Tipton Poetry Journal. She is working on a collection of poems about her son’s cancer journey.