'Do not be afraid'
They said to him
For there is no greater pain
Than that of death

And afterwards
As he looked grim
They took turns in telling him
That he would improve

Cancer
They repeated in his ears
Cancer
His brain chanted

It is eating me alive

But, as he looked up
At the ceiling
Of a sterile, cold
Hospital room

He realized they were wrong

The pain of death
Would sooner turn to a pleasure
Compared to the turmoil
Of his disease

Cancer
Again and again
They whispered to him
Hushing him
Lulling him to sleep with their evil, evil sighs

He did not believe their lies

The next day
He left the hospital room
He sat on the bus
And sat for hours

Going wherever
Fate wanted to take him

Everyday he did this
Everyday he tried to live
In another person's shoes

The bus driver's
The woman across the street
The man in the window,
At the motel down the road

He lived like they did

Until finally,
He realized
He did not want to live
Any life but his own

He went back to the hospital
He fought
He ached
He scarred
He broke down
And he won

Live no life but yours
He said to me as I wrote
Write any lives you want,
He repeated,
But live only yours