I Lived to See This Day
Lan Williams
by Lan Williams
You were still a little child when I fell ill.
I feared the dark—not for myself, but for you.
I held your hand and softly said,
“I’ll fight to stay… a little while longer.”
The poison burned. My hair fell out.
I smiled through pain you never knew.
You grew taller; I walked more slowly.
My back bent low, but still I carried on.
Then came the day—your cap, your gown.
You stood there proud, your future calling:
A Navy dream now underway.
You’ve grown, my son.
I lived to see this day.
Lan Williams is a six-year stage IIIC ovarian cancer survivor living in Upstate New York. In 2022, the cancer spread to her lungs and liver, progressing to stage IV. She writes in both Vietnamese and English, drawing inspiration from the unexpected moments of life with metastatic cancer. Her Vietnamese poetry has been published in Vietnam. Through her stories and poems, she hopes to help others feel seen, understood, and a little less alone.
