Relay for Life

I have been committed emotionally to the Cancer Society’s Relay for Life since losing my mother far too many years ago to stomach cancer. My lovely Scottish mother was my touchstone and I miss her every day of my life. As a poet I pour much of my grief into my work – just as I did when I lost my father the year following. I think my poetry helped save my life (yet again) in those dark days after both were taken from me too young. If you’d like to read some of these poems I wrote about their lives visit my website at https://triciamccallum.com Once on my homepage choose the heading entitled “Time Was”on the left hand side menu bar. I would love you to come and visit. Some day when you find some quiet time. And bring a cup of hot tea.

Sadly, my commitment to helping stop this modern day scourge was forged even deeper this past year when I learned my younger brother had been diagnosed with Stage Three colon cancer. The news was devastating for all of us, hitting us like a bolt out of the blue, in particular his young family. He has just completed a six-month course of chemo and soldiers on with such an upbeat wonderful attitude he humbles me. He jokes and makes light of it all, making it easier for everyone who loves him. And many do. We all pray he remains in remission.

Our culture of fear.

Following the sad story of Natasha Richardson reinforces for me the kind of culture we are living in. It is basically a culture of fear.

All the reports now are focused on helmets. Buy them, wear them, never take them off. Save your life. Endless discussions and film clips of brain swelling and surgical procedures. In fact on the National last night it showed there were a mere 14 deaths due to brain injury on ski hills in Canada in the last DECADE! (When I say mere, I don’t minimize the tragedy or the value of the lives lost, but you get my point).

But very little discussion about the very real fact life is precarious, accidents happen every day, in less likely places than ski hills. Life is fleeting, fragile. The message should be: Live it fully. Not carefully.

Writer and Poet

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Tricia McCallum

Always be a poet. Even in prose.
Charles Baudelaire.

In essence I am a storyteller who writes poems. Put simply, I write the poems I want to read.[…]

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Thanks for sharing

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