Jenny's Flare

Reposted with permission of Jennifer Pettit, author of the Understanding Invisible Illness :

Inspired by my flare-fried emotions and Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence", this probably more poetry than a performance piece, but whatever it is, it's here for you:

Hello Illness, my old friend, I’ve come to fight with you again,
Because inflammation ever creeping, has stolen health from my safekeeping.
And the tumid, aching tendons I have strained
Still remain; with them, the need for patience.

In mental fog I softly groan, a haze induced by Prednisone,
Imprisoned in an unrelenting cramp, I dread the winter’s weather – cold and damp,
My eyes burn still, Sicca Syndrome worsened by sunlight
A Sjogren’s plight. And wearing thin is patience.

When through blurred vision I first saw, other people – many more,
People suffering without speaking, others passing by without listening,
Patients reaching out needing hope, support, and care.
If love’s out there, we’re running out of patience.

Our inner strength en masse we’ll show, despair fades when awareness grows.
See us now, right in front of you! We’re all around and everywhere with you!
A few can see me now, but so many move on by,
I heave a sigh, and search my soul for patience.

For a moment I watch the world, my former goals within it twirled,
Pretending that inside I’m not mourning the loss of plans that I had been forming.
I know I’m blessed by God in so many precious ways,
But still it stays – my endless need for patience.

Image found here.