It's said
but do they really know?
that all of us belonging
to the male persuasion
get this cancer
if we're lucky
live to what's been called
a ripe old age

Not sure if that's a comfort
but the doctors say the odds
that I will die of something else
are roughly nine to one
and I do find that
rather reassuring

These odds are predicated
on my undergoing treatment
radiation - no big deal
as it turned out
but next what my urologist
called chemical castration

I said there must be
some less gruesome term
he smiled and nodded
told me it was
only for two years
and jotted down the
requisite prescription

The Lupron put me through my paces
two years last November
now we wait to see
whether my energy returns
and if the numbers tracking
cancer start to climb

Like all disease
it's been an opportunity
to learn
an education on so many
levels that my impulse
is to give the cancer
more credit than due

But really it's been just another
part of aging
just another exercise
in letting go
and getting ready
for the final leap
I hope will be
truly a leap of faith