Amplified Melancholy by Diana Raab

You might ask me to explain
this season’s melancholy
slipping through my veins

and all I can tell you is that
on the tenth anniversary of dad’s 
passing, the doctors removed

my right breast and five years later 
stabbed by a second diagnosis, 
bone marrow malignancy,

no cure just treatment—
the holiday lights sharpened.
Past dripping menorah candles,

I step onto African soil
with dreams of leaving 
my own cells buried there 

merging with a history 
of African fights for survival,
even as I know there’s no way

except through magical dreams,
to leave behind what haunts me:
the healthy bones dad had once bestowed.


*First published in Black Fox Literary, July 2011

About the Poet:

Diana Raab, MFA, PhD, is a memoirist, poet, blogger, speaker, and award-winning author of ten books and over 1000 articles and poems.  She blogs for Psychology Today, The Wisdom Daily and Thrive Global. Her latest book is Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Program for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life. She frequently speaks on writing for healing and transformation. Visit her at: dianaraab.com.