Roars To Silence.

A formidable figure in the past,
Among others he stood tall and strong,
With a commanding presence that would last
He marched to the tune of his own song.

Against odds he rose to a eminent stature,
For years he was at the coveted pinnacle
A man revered and feared for formidable nature
His baritone created ripples along the rural folk.

But Fate moved the dice one fine day,
For none can forever keep illness at bay,
And thus began the decline towards doomsday
Ravaged by the insidious tumour, he would sway.

Alas it was a cruel trick upon him,
As his deep voice hollowed into a ghostly whisper
And his frame melted Into bony nothingness,
His dignity was shredded forever.

His spirit battled against his frail frame,
As he accepted his inelegant mortality,
His lost glory he could not reclaim
Yet with stoic grace he walked to his finality.




To the 80+ old man with a Carcinoma Larynx. He can't talk. The tumour has invaded his pharynx as well. So he can't swallow either so he needs a jejunostomy. He is shrunken and shrivelled up and his eyes are hollow. More than that it's the feeling of helplessness that he can't control the drooling and cant express anything verbally. You begin to wonder that when someone says they are 'alive' there are different degrees of being alive and this is also one kind of living.

On further interaction with the patient's attenders, I gathered that he worked as a revenue officer across the state and that he was a well read man. I saw for myself when I received a note in English from the patient for a complaint he had. :)