I know a woman in a war
with a shadow
the size of a walnut
on her lung
she evicted it years ago
but it came back
as quiet as the bottom
of a lake
how dare it return
her fury is boiling hot
but there is nowhere to register
a complaint
and so she consoles the innocent parts of her body
as she soaks them all
in a strange kind of medicine
that makes her writhe and
then limp
she is scared
she is tired
she is brave
she is clear
I tried to pray for her
the other day
but I didn’t know who
to reach for
so I just closed my eyes
and what I saw
was an army
of her friends
a cacophony of blessings
and I knew
that defiant kind of knowing
a shadow
cannot endure
such light.