Matthew Scott Oickle was thirty-eight years old and finally coming into his own as a poet when he received the news. He was terminally ill with colon cancer. Scott had spent years sharpening his craft and fine-tuning his skills as a performing poet. His readings, delivered in a vivid, provocative style, were popular at poetry slams at public coffee houses and other arts scenes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. From the day he heard the dreaded news from his oncologist, Scott's poetry had new purpose - as an outlet for the anger, the fear, and the frustration over what he considered an unfair fate, and also as a means for settling past grievances and exploring relationships in the new light of mortality. In the two years between his diagnosis and his death, Scott gives us a look into the soul of a man unexpectedly at the edge of life's final precipice. We see him battle with his anger at having to leave behind his wife and young children. We witness his grasping attempt to hold on to his vitality and we look on as he both cherishes and rages against people whose love and friendship he earned over a lifetime. But the poems are not all tragedy and sorrow.
Many explore, with stunning perceptions, both the simple and the significant joys of life. The poem In Line at Fenway Park, for example, is an eloquent commentary on optimism amid the struggles. After describes the emotions felt by a couple following their intimacy. In dying, this poet is celebrating life. If this is a tough read for some, it has rewards.