‘keep Slaying The Dragon Inside’: Simon Armitage Pens Poem For World Cancer Day

Cancer is simply a taxable nan writer laureate Simon Armitage has ever shied distant from. “I find it very daunting,” he said. “I’ve mislaid friends and family to cancer.”

But erstwhile he was commissioned to constitute a poem to people World Cancer Day, he was forced to face nan realities of nan disease. “I deliberation I saw portion of my task arsenic being somewhat demystifying and possibly de-mythologising aliases de-demonising crab a small spot to myself,” Armitage said.

He was asked to constitute nan poem, titled The Campaign, by Yorkshire Cancer Research, a kindness that costs investigation and useful pinch group affected by crab crossed his autochthonal Yorkshire.

“My first thoughts, arsenic pinch each commission, is that I can’t do this, don’t really cognize wherever to start,” Armitage said. “But that’s nan situation really, and I for illustration nan thought that nan taxable is nan benignant of puzzle, and nan poem is nan solution.”

In Yorkshire, personification is diagnosed pinch crab each 17 minutes. Before penning nan poem, Armitage met pinch 17 group from crossed Yorkshire – researchers, families, fundraisers and group surviving pinch crab – astatine nan Yorkshire Cancer Research centre successful Harrogate.

“The point that really galvanised everything for maine was spending clip astatine nan centre,” he said. “That was incredibly inspiring, very moving arsenic well, and I deliberation that’s ever nan spot wherever poesy wants to spell to, to nan affectional part.”

He added: “I knew that I didn’t want to constitute thing mawkish and sentimental, peculiarly because connected nan time I went to nan centre location was a immense magnitude of optimism and dream successful nan room.”

One of nan group Armitage met was Gary Lovelace, a erstwhile headteacher who lives pinch shape 4 kidney cancer.

“What was important for maine was it finishes connected a affirmative note,” Lovelace said, “with nan classical statement astatine nan extremity of turning Yorkshire into a verb and saying, ‘we support connected Yorkshiring on’ I thought was a really inspirational finish, and I recovered it powerful.”

“Reading it I recovered I had each those emotions,” he said. “But proceeding Simon speak pinch his dialect, his Yorkshire voice, his pace, his intonation, conscionable really brought it to life, and made it a very typical portion of activity for me.”

Dr Kathryn Scott, main executive astatine Yorkshire Cancer Research, said erstwhile she first publication nan poem: “I person to admit, I had a small tear successful my eye.”

The kindness commissioned nan poem because, she said, “of our centenary twelvemonth and really wanting to people it pinch thing a spot different, and thing that is location successful perpetuity, thing that’s a existent awesome of that milestone of 100 years.”

The metaphorical dragon that features successful nan poem is taken from a reside by nan charity’s first honorary secretary, Sir Harold Mackintosh, who, successful a reside marking its first nationalist fundraising entreaty successful January 1926, astatine nan Queen’s Hotel successful Leeds, issued a telephone crossed Yorkshire to “deliver nan onslaught upon cancer, nan awesome force of mankind, and go nan caller Saint George successful nan activity of slaying nan dragon”.

“I tin understand really immoderate group mightiness beryllium a spot much pragmatic,” Lovelace said. “Say, yeah, I don’t want a poem, I want amended tablets aliases I want a cure aliases whatever. But from my constituent of view, we’re each existent people, we’re each affectional people, what makes america consciousness bully is bully for us.”

“I do judge if you unrecorded pinch crab successful a affirmative way, past that’s amended for you,” he added. “And Simon’s poem … will make group consciousness good.

“I deliberation it will pass group a small bit, but it will make group consciousness good, whilst not underestimating nan tasks ahead. So I don’t deliberation we should ever underestimate nan powerfulness of poems.”

Similarly, Armitage, who has been writer laureate since 2019, said that poesy has “evolved very subtly and very good to nan property that we unrecorded in” and nan mean is successful “a very patient place”.

“It’s astonishing really, I cognize I get very tired of group saying that young people, younger generations aren’t willing successful poetry, they perfectly are,” he said.

“They’re fanatically willing successful language, and they mightiness not manifest it and transmit it successful nan aforesaid measurement that I did erstwhile I was increasing up, but poesy has proved itself to beryllium unkillable from nan very beginning.”

He added: “My emotion is that nan poesy is successful a very patient spot and I deliberation possibly successful a world wherever we’re surrounded by 360-degree noise, 24 hours a day, not each of it trustworthy, if you get a poem, which is 1 personification saying thing that they’ve thought about, and they really judge in, it becomes very valuable.”

The Campaign

Because we famously speak arsenic we find
we said nan connection crab retired loud, called it a dragon,
went looking for problem and picked a fight.
When it reared up successful nan liver we went into action,
outflanked it, stoned it pinch tablets and pills.
When it hid successful nan kidneys aliases humor we rootled it out,
chased it into nan unfastened past shooed it complete nan hill.

Whenever it raised its serpent’s caput we slapped it
difficult successful nan mush pinch a elephantine kindness cheque,
baited it, lured it retired of its lair past zapped it
pinch photons, protons, compounds and hormones,
messed pinch its atoms and cells till its forked tongue
was tongue-tied, and tied its forked tail successful knots.

When it hunkered down successful nan prostate gland
aliases made a nest for itself successful nan bladder aliases bowel
we caught it connected camera, waylaid it pinch magnets,
tracked and traced it crossed nan body’s ridings
and wolds, done ginnels and snickets,
past galloped against it pinch needles for lances,
aimed activity aft activity of invisible bullets
into its bitter heart, bamboozled its acheronian soul.

When it perched connected nan bosom we clipped its wings
pinch skilful hands; erstwhile it smouldered and skulked
successful nan lungs aliases roared pinch its fiery breath
we drowned it pinch thousands of voices, tamed it
pinch words and songs. When it tainted nan skin
pinch its beingness we pierced its scales, punctured
its plated hide, flummoxed it correct to nan core.

When it prowled successful nan mind we outfoxed it,
killed it pinch kindness, ran rings astir it
pinch marathons, pram races, beverage dances, car rallies,
near it down successful nan trolley dash, laughed successful its face,
stood enarthrosis to shoulder, held hands, linked arms,
and flew a achromatic roseate connected a emblem wherever it fell.

But nan occupation isn’t over, nan activity isn’t done;
it broods and lurks successful organs and genes,
muscles successful connected our lives, truthful we push forward,
support slaying nan dragon inside, support Yorkshiring on.