Poem of the Month

Each month Ancient Eagle Press offers a poem appropriate to the season or the mood of our editorial staff.   Poems may be new or drawn from existing AEP editions.

                                                  At Night She Cries
  “I feel fine,” she says, “Much better than last time. 
  My hair isn't even falling out. We're gonna beat this thing.”
  You bet. You rock, Girl. So she smiles, gets back to work,
  Solves other people's problems, answers e-mail, comforts the kids.

  “The coughing is just a springtime allergy; a little tired, not sleeping well,
  The doctor will give me something for that. Chemo's just for a while.”
  The phone rings, another caring friend needing to be comforted,
  And she is again the comforter, assuring everyone things will be all right.

  But at night she cries. When the phones have gone to sleep,
  And the lights are at rest, and she is alone with her man,
  She cries in his arms. She is tired, she is sick,
  Food has no taste, she gets confused and forgets why it's worth the fight.

  He tries to comfort her, tries to say the right things,
  Tells her they'll get through this together,
  And he believes what he says, though his heart is filled with fear,
  And his own tears have fallen where she cannot see.

  She loves him because he tries so hard,
  She loves him because he is her strength,
  But she hates that he will not see she is dying,
  And that secret is a cancer of its own.

  We come into the world surrounded by a mother's love.
  And travel for a time in the company of friends,
  But the last few steps are a journey of a singular nature,
  One we must each take alone.

  I lost my faith along that road, but for you,
  If you find in your solitude that God is walking quietly beside you,
  Put your hand in His, take Him into your heart,
  And He will lead you home.

    by Lee Alloway
    from The Ant Farm (2011)

April 2016

April is National Poetry Month as well as National Control Cancer Month. To mark the occasion, the editors at Ancient Eagle Press offer this to everyone whose life has been forever changed by cancer.

Where Old Fliers Come to Roost

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