I saw her friends gathering homework,

From all the classes that she missed,

Saying softly when asked about her imperfect lungs,

“She’s on the transfer waiting list.”

 

But every knows how long it takes,

To get a perfect set of lungs before it’s too late,

And soon enough you start to despise the words,

“Just wait.”

 

So all she does is try to inhale oxygen,

That no one else seems to struggle to do,

As every day she wakes up and hooks to a tank,

To start Chemo anew.

 

Her friends stop by every day,

Wondering if one will be her last,

And if all the times they talk about her,

Will be forever be spoken in the past.

 

The school sends hearts and cards,

And her best friend brought balloons and teddy bear,

Everyone trying to show her,

How much she makes them care.

 

But as she grows pale and thin,

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting,

For a set of perfect lungs,

To be hers again.

 

You just wish that bile didn’t come up,

Instead of food,

And that she can somehow can gain weight,

And do anything but sit and brood.

 

She’s stuck in a bitter cycle,

Just like she’s stuck with imperfect lungs in her chest,

As every day she is prodded with needles,

And takes another new test.

 

The teddy bear she named “Hazel Grace,”

Hoping that somehow it will bring her good luck,

And not have doctors say bad news to her face.

 

But there’s always more waiting,

And people only see her condition,

Waiting to throw a celebration party,

When she goes into remission.

 

But it never happens,

And the teddy bear doesn’t bring good luck,

As the tears and screams as the news comes,

Get unstuck.

 

She never wanted to be,

Just a girl with cancer,

Waiting for a set perfect lungs,

To take the imperfect ones away from her.

 

But someone in the end,

That is how she ended up,

A girl who tried her best,

To fight the lack of oxygen in her chest.

 

There are tons more like her,

With a similar story,

Trying to fight the horrible monster,

Stuck in the “cancer” category.