((I have not followed through on my commitments to this blog for 2018 (it was far too overwhelming a year for that, I’ve found) but I have today rediscovered a poem I wrote back in 2013, and I found it so striking that I felt the need to share it:))

June 15, 2013

No I haven’t an appointment
I’m sorry for that, I really am,
But the pain came far too suddenly,
And it hurt too much to think.

Describe it? Well it’s a strange sort of pain,
Dwelling beneath the cage of my ribs.
There, right there – soft but sharp
Is there something wrong?

Ah.
I see.

Then how long will it take?
How long will it hurt?
How long ‘til it heals?
A week? A month? Or maybe two?

When can I start to function again?
A month for the cast? Another without?
Give me a date and I’ll mark it down I’ll need to let people know when I’ll be alright.

Please, a date, some tangible time,
So I can take up the pen through my tears,
And strike the days I leave behind,
Then even if it take months or years…

I can make it.
I can keep going.
I can power through each day,
Hoping the pain will fade away.

So don’t just tell me a diagnosis.
Just tell me, doctor

When can I say
that I have healed?