“A breast cancer Skinny in three parts" and "#BlessedInTheWest" by J.E. Seuk

A breast cancer Skinny in three parts

(a) Anecdotal knowledge of East Asians, menopausal

The kindly male white oncologist says, well,
anecdotally,
you

don’t
suffer
(anecdotally)
like
whites
suffer,
anecdotally,
says the well white male oncologist, kindly.

(b) Tinman sans oilcan

appreciation for the power of walking:
pain
slays
independence,
peace.
pain
erasing
joy,
me.
pain.
power of the appreciation for walking.

(c) Tinman carries oilcan

appreciation for the power of walking:
mobility
avails
independence,
ease.
mobility
teaching
losses,
me.
mobility:
walk for the appreciation of power.

---

#BlessedInTheWest

So I got too much chemo:
it blitzed through my body
when there wasn’t enough chemo in Ukraine.

I got too much chemo
that shredded my mind.
There’s never enough chemo in Sudan.

Now they hadn’t told me
I could get too much chemo
til skin eyes guts voice soul weren’t mine.

But I got too much chemo
and it beat back my cancer —

And there’s not enough chemo in Gaza.
And in Gaza the patients wait on.

---

3/23/2025

J.E. Seuk is a 1.75 generation Korean American immigrant in England, currently pursuing a Creative Writing master’s at Cambridge. J.E.’s work has been nominated for Best of the Net, commended for the FAB Prize, was a finalist in the Gabriele Rico Challenge for Nonfiction, and has appeared in Kissing Dynamite, trampset, Ellipsis Zine, and Caustic Frolic. After aggressive cancer treatment, she's picking up her pen again. Find her @SeukWrites.