Remove The Ghost Smile

Sun that warms and lights the earth

share your gold in strands of hair.

I cry for vanity, scream at mirrors.

My head, bald as an eagle,

houses the language of Athena,

but my spirit rages at its nakedness.

Morning star burn night from scars,

restore gilded curls,  and remove

the ghost smile I lean on.

©Susie Clevenger 2016

Real Toads ~ Sunday Mini Challenge ~ Charms

This is for my daughter, Dawn. I have watched her face so many challenges with her health, a destructive marriage, battling setbacks to attain her college degree, but through all of it she had her beautiful hair. My poem is about her struggle when the autoimmune illness, Alopecia, took it from her.

September is Alopecia awareness month. Many people, including doctors, don't understand this autoimmune illness where your body just sheds your hair, and in my case my entire head, my eyebrows, my eyelashes and even the hair on my arms and legs. No, I don't have cancer (anymore, I am a kidney cancer survivor for almost 8 years now), but I've been dealing with hair loss for almost two years. Today, I have some blond hair growing back. I lost all my eyelashes, and they've come back in. But the truth is, I may never have a full head of hair again, or it may come back in and be really funky. OR I could have Farrah Fawcett hair.... :) What I do know is I can't hold on to the fear of living a life without hair. It's been a challenge to be sure! But....as with everything else that's happened in life...I've learned to roll with it. I am Wonder Woman, and I am a survivor. And I try to live life to the fullest, and I am forever thankful for my heroes, my loved ones, my life support. Thanks for listening to me, now go find out more about #Alopecia here:http://goo.gl/9hCHf5.