Leaving Hawaii after 36 years
felt like stepping off Everest.
A plunge into free fall.
I trusted my DNA to save me.
Unaware in the ‘90s,
I became part of the experiment.
By 35, I had an autoimmune disease,
new to my family.
Hypothyroidism,
an autoimmune disease,
linked to GMOs and sugar
were dismissed by the family doctor.
Like everyone else,
I had rationalized the altered food as safe.
My stomach wouldn’t burst
like bugs on toxic corn.
After all,
I was genetically strong
like Dad.
Published by
C. S. De Dona
Author, Poet, Photographer, domestic violence survivor, and naturalized immigrant, Cornelia is currently an Arts and Letters member of The Southwest Florida Branch of The National League Of American Pen Women.
Cornelia lived in Kaneohe, Hawaii, for thirty-six years. Also, seven years in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York. She now resides in North Fort Myers, Florida.
Her poems and photography are published in print, online, and in Rain Bird, a literary and art journal of the University of Hawaii's Windward Community College (2008-2013).
In 2013, Cornelia received Rain Bird's Kolokolea Poetry Prize for her poem, "Speaking French."
In 2016, her chapbook "Hawaiian Time," entered in the National League of American Pen Women's Vinnie Ream contest, was awarded third place in their inaugural multi-discipline category.
View all posts by C. S. De Dona
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