Way to live

There are many ways to die

She thought with a sigh-

A swift, painless accident

Or a fulfilled life coming to an end

Or this- the agonizing, slow oozing

Of life from within, the constant cruising

Between crises, trying to find

A respite from your body for the tired mind..

Such was her death sentence, her disease

Sapping at her strength, no prospect of release

The pain, the isolation of a chronic illness

Threatened to turn her into a soul feckless

Giving into her illness, she felt control receding

Life was ebbing away,  slowly bleeding..

Tormented with the question “why me?”

She raged and despaired simultaneously..

**

Her rage spent, a new normal she found

Trying hard to focus on the positives around

Her disease became a part essential

Of her, many things became inconsequential

As she developed for life a new respect

Each day without pain was a blessing, in effect..

**

“There are many ways to live,” she says

“One may live for a purpose, or just while away days

Living with gratitude for being alive and pain-free

Each day, is as good a way of living as can be..

Being able to breathe, being able to see,

Smell, taste, hear- savor everything around me

Is a gift for me, not to be lightly treated-

I remind myself, when I feel defeated

There are many ways to live, and I

Choose to live every day under this sky