“Emperor of Maladies”

By: Josh Woodley

Rebellions start in the smallest of places.

One single idea, changed within a single cell,

creating a violent mutation.

Every coup will begin to grow,

a spreading manifest.

A mutilated cell takes leadership,

copious amounts of rebellious cells castigating

you.

You the salient part to stopping treason.

Your own soldiers cannot see the invisible rebels.

Like U.S soldiers lost on the Ho Chi Minh,

white blood splatters after vicious spontaneous attacks.

Your stable idea evaporates under the deadly might of

one anarchist cell,

who then crowns himself the emperor of maladies.

The perfect killer,

a camouflaged killer, who goes out with a bang.

The body unable to fight back his militia’s deadly waves.

You the previous leader,

who failed to exorcise the origin of the issue,

until the point of no return;

Agony, catastrophic pain,

for your family, peers, and yourself.

The smallest things in life ripped from you;

in your last moments animalistically fighting back.

A slow excruciating execution tears you away,

the Emperor of Maladies’ conquest completed.

Sitting on his dark throne,

your heart pumps it’s last beat,

fading

into

nothing.

(The Emperor of All maladies is a book written by Siddhartha Mukherjee. It is book outlining the

complete history of Cancer. The book is titled so because cancer is the king of all ailments aka

a malady. This was the inspiration for my title.)