A Life

As a tenured academic, a
scientist specializing in botany,
a born naturalist and an intrepidly
avid birder he has been places
done things that most have not.
A raconteur with a robust sense of
humour intact, he forwarded an
unsolicited manuscript detailing
his many and varied adventures
in nature to his textbook publisher
hoping it might elicit interest.
That's a fond hope. Hope is vital
to his condition. He no longer
plays his beloved squash, but 
he does venture out on long walks.
His appetite is not depressed, he
has lost no weight and he feels
pretty good. That's the good news.
On the iffy news side he is
embarking on yet another round
of chemotherapy. His oncologist
and radiologist have no empowering
news to impart after diagnosing
the non-results of his last round.
Condition unchanged, the mass
undiminished, this hale and hearty
man in the prime of his mature
years grapples with his future,
himself now diagnosing words like
advanced, rampant, metastasized.
And of course, inoperable.