How writing poetry and counselling combine to help a writer come to terms with life-limiting bone marrow cancer

Abstract

The article follows writing what becomes a satirical poem about the writer’s imagined death. It is written after a cancer diagnosis brings on a fear of dying. A period of counselling poses questions to turn him towards how he might live: his compulsion to write leads him to write in a more experimental voice; challenging ‘new sounds’ are explored to help reduce a fear of dying, including a satirical ‘sound’ to sharpen the poem and narrow a gap between his poetry, cancer and himself. Writing the poem also confirms that ongoing changes in his cancer are best expressed through experiments with his poetic voice.