I might have passed
without knowing
over the cancer-curved horizon
ignorant of who I am

that would have been the saddest thing

within this damaged shell
open to life, love, loss
grows something priceless
that pearl
is me

J O’Farrell
Nov 2013

Poem inspired by an image
(Somewhat surreal: a child on a beach, lifting up the sea as if it was a carpet – to reveal a lot of litter.)