This explains me better than I ever could

Thanks to my dear friend Carina Palmqvist who is on this  awful Cancer journey with me. She gave me this poem and it screams inside of me better than I would ever be able to put into words.

Don't tell me that you understand

Don't tell me that you know,

Don't tell me that I will survive

Or how I will surely grow.

Don't tell me that this is just a test

That I am truly blessed

That I am chosen for this task

Apart from all the rest.

Don't come at me with answers

That can only come from me,

Don't tell me how my grief will pass,

That I will soon be free.

Don't stand in pious judgment

Of the bounds I must untie,

Don't tell me how to suffer

And don't tell me how to cry!

My life is filled with selfishness,

My pain is all I see,

But, I need you now,

I need your love, unconditionally.

Accept me in my ups and downs,

I need someone to share,

Just hold my hand and let me cry,

And say, "My friend, I care."

By Joanetta Hendel