By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – Almost 15 years ago, Lutcher native Rosalind Davis-Smith set out for the sunny environs of California. She had just had her first book of poetry published and busied herself running from one speaking engagement or book promotion to another.

Since then, she returned to the more familiar surroundings of South Louisiana, first taking up residence in Baton Rouge and then settling down in her home parish of St. James.

Despite appearances, however, her life has not slowed down since leaving California.

In a life already filled its fair share of hardship — she dropped out of school in the ninth grade, ran away from home and was a mother at the age of 16 — Davis-Smith found she had one more hurdle to leap on her life’s journey.

In August 2007, just after opening her own real estate agency, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

For many, the diagnosis might seem like a death sentence. But Davis-Smith took it all in stride.

“My family actually got upset with me because I never got upset,” she said. “I was too encouraged at that time to let anything rain on my parade.”

The illness, though, presented an all too familiar hardship for her. As a Crohn’s disease sufferer, she had been denied healthcare, so she was forced to seek treatment with whatever free or low-cost options were available.

Throughout this ordeal, she underwent what she called “the battle of the three C’s” — Crohn’s, cancer and chemotherapy.

With her body ravaged and her hair gone, Davis-Smith found a way to persevere. She channeled her pain, as she had done so many times in her life, into poetry.

“I just stayed busy the whole time,” she said.

Although she finished the bulk of her radiation treatment in November 2008, her doctors kept finding worrisome areas, so she had to return for chemotherapy periodically.

On Jan. 20, 2009, she was at the medical center for one such treatment and was feeling down because President Barack Obama was being inaugurated that day, and she would have to sit out the festivities.

“I went in for a chemo treatment on Jan. 20,” she said, “and the doctor said he wanted to see me.”

Often being called into the doctor’s office can mean bad news is on the way, but not on that day. The doctor told Davis-Smith she was cancer-free.

The joyous moment inspired her to compose a poem she called “The Same Day.” And it was the strength of that poem that led Davis-Smith to her latest endeavor.

She was recently signed by the Tate Music Group to record a spoken word CD. Davis-Smith said the recording will go into production next month and should be out by the summer.

Far from the recluse poet, she is not content to hole herself up in a dark room, scribbling lines by candlelight. Following her successful battle with cancer, she made frequent appearances as a speaker, sharing her story, both the good and bad of it, with the general public.

Through these appearances, she caught the attention of the organization Change That Works, a national grassroots group that promotes a progressive agenda.

The group flew her out to Washington, D.C., and eventually offered her a position as a community organizer in Louisiana. And one of the best perks about her current job is the best healthcare package she ever had, Davis-Smith noted.

She has also become a minister at Gramercy’s New Zion Christian Center and serves as its voice on the radio.

Despite these many accomplishments, one of the things that brings the biggest smile to her lips is the regrowth of her hair. “I was one of the fortunate ones,” she said.

Davis-Smith’s books are available online at Amazon, at Impact Christian Gifts and Bookstore in Gramercy and Scriptures in LaPlace and through Davis-Smith herself.