My father was my best buddy my entire life. My hero. My protector. Whenever he was around, I had zero worries. In June, 2007 my world was shaken to the core. My daddy was diagnosed with Stage Four Colon Cancer. His prognosis was a death sentence. The clock began ticking. We were told he could be expected to live six to twelve months, tops. However, my father was the toughest man to ever set foot on Earth. Six months passed. Then a year. Fast forward seven years from his initial diagnosis and he was still with us. He ended up with Cancer in his lungs, liver, lymphnodes, esophagus, bones, spine and brain. He lived for over seven years with that lethal Stage Four Colon Cancer diagnosis. The entire time he was merely worried about his girls. He never once complained.

I wrote this reverso poem to honor his fight and dedication to us. If you look closely, the words in each poem are a complete reversal of one another.

Daddy

Everywhere. Cancer diagnosis.
Fight strong-
Are you worried?
Us?
No, Yourself!

Yourself- no!
Us.
Worried you are.
Strong fight.
Diagnosis:
Cancer EVERYWHERE!

I’m so grateful to still have a voicemail saved from him that I listen to often. I just knew that my birthday in 2014 would be the last he would be here to celebrate with me. For that reason, I recorded him singing Happy Birthday to me. I have watched and listened to that video each year on my birthday since he passed. Although I will never be the same without him, he made sure to raise me to survive without him. I am an extremely independent and capable woman because of him. I strive each day to honor him and do what would make him proud of his little girl. It is my personal mission to raise my daughter to be able to stand on her own two feet, as well.

In loving memory of Paul G. Skidmore