• HOME ISSUE #3
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY AND PROSE
  • BLACK MUSIC PHOTO ESSAY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • VISUAL ART GALLERY
  • BIOGRAPHIES
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • Support Merge Literary Magazine
  • ISSUE #2 CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • FEATURED WRITERS AND ARTISTS
  • MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • Multimedia Art Review
  • PHOTOGRAPHY CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
  • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • ISSUE #1 POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
    • Mission and Content
    • About US
    • POETRY
    • PROSE
    • ART ILLUSTRATION
    • ESSAYS AND PLAY
    • MULTI-MEDIA QUILT REVIEW
    • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
    • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
    • Support Merge Literary Magazine
MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE
REDEFINITION

By Gwen Russell Green

My sisters and I meet challenges head on
Face forward, feet firmly planted
We must decide to fight like a GIRL
The word cancer must be a small ‘c’ with us
One more ‘c’ word
Like capable, compelling, clairvoyant
Crystal clear
Never a BIG ‘c’ with us
Never giving it power or prestige
simply another ‘c’ word
like conscious, coherent, clear-headed
not defining, not confining
but critical none the less
believing that there is life beyond it,
as there has been life before it
and there will be life after it!
The grace of God, the peace of God
Can take us through it
As it does all deep valleys
Loneliness, grief, guilt
It will NOT conquer us
We will not let it
We will stand up to it
Circumvent it
Triumph in spite of it
We will draw our strength
From all who love us
All who support us
all who depend on us
to live, to survive, to thrive
another day
we do not welcome it
we do not want it
but we will face it
one chemo treatment
one radiation experience at a time
with hair, without hair
with breasts, without breasts
with whatever strength GOD gives us
we will fight
we will struggle
we WILL persevere
We WILL GO ON
As femininity, redefined



  • HOME ISSUE #3
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY AND PROSE
  • BLACK MUSIC PHOTO ESSAY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • VISUAL ART GALLERY
  • BIOGRAPHIES
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • Support Merge Literary Magazine
  • ISSUE #2 CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • FEATURED WRITERS AND ARTISTS
  • MERGE LITERARY MAGAZINE PRINT EDITION
  • Mission and Content
  • About US
  • POETRY
  • ESSAYS ARTICLES AND FICTION
  • Multimedia Art Review
  • PHOTOGRAPHY CELEBRATING BLACK WOMEN
  • ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
  • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
  • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
  • ISSUE #1 POLITICAL AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
    • Mission and Content
    • About US
    • POETRY
    • PROSE
    • ART ILLUSTRATION
    • ESSAYS AND PLAY
    • MULTI-MEDIA QUILT REVIEW
    • WRITERS AND ARTISTS BIOS
    • SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
    • Support Merge Literary Magazine