Mosaic: Finding New Identity and Purpose After Cancer

Mosaic: Finding New Identity and Purpose After Cancer

Fresh, unaltered

Clay still under my nails

A new vessel

Created by my hands

Through each push and pull

One moment gentle and another rough

A new form has been created

Entirely my own

Caste into the flame

Hardened and fired from soft earth

Now strong, and capable

Able to hold the flow of life

To carry it for others and ourself

Standing firm, unyielding under the current

A misstep, a slip of the hand

It all came crashing

Falling while holding it all

Shattered

Broken

Pieces scattered across a floor

No mop to sop up the water

A handful of broken ceramic

No way to piece them together again

The form devastated

Shards so sharp, they can cut

Pieces so small, they are almost lost

The vessel cannot be returned to

Each piece shines

Gleams in its integrity

Its resolve to exist

Not to be left to dust

The tenacity it exudes

To continue on

Even if it is not whole

Only pieces of what was

Delicately, and intently each shard is laid

Not to be thrown away, but put to use

Each piece finds its new home

Even if this wasn’t its purpose

It finds new meaning

New life

In a mosaic of its fragmented pieces

This article was featured in the December 2023 Rediscovering Yourself After Cancer issue of Elephants and Tea Magazine! Click here to read our magazine issues.