AN ODE TO YOU AND M.E.
By: *Colleen Downey
*Copyright 1996
Once upon an eerie morn,
I woke up with the claws of scorn;
One placed atop my aching head;
the other holding me in bed.
And months ahead to my surprise,
did fill with tears my swollen eyes.
Then I did learn what does prevail;
the illness that has made me pale.
For now my ears, they buzz as bees
that swarm amid the plants and trees.
And muscles grasp and clasp and twitch;
the skin upon my arms does itch!
Once I could RUN down any hall…
Yet… now I hold onto the wall.
At times… I am afraid to fall…
At times… I simply have to c-r-a-w-l…
And in my yard, no apple grows..
But yet, the scent does brush my nose.
And where my glasses I do place,
when I return, there is NO trace.
There is a reason I presume
why I have walked into this room;
And so go back and hope to find
the reason that I left behind.
For friends who have a winded pipe
of many words… the draining type,
I must now set a timer bell
to shorten tales they wish to tell.
As I explain in my defense,
“My friends, you must not take offense;
I yawn not at your strifes and whoas;
the illness makes me nod and doze.”
And what maintains a love affair?
There must be something in the air;
Or is it just my swings of mood,
that tango with your solitude.
Perhaps the scent of menthol rub
or sweetened words I often flub;
When on occasion n my head
the script is there but then instead,
the words do fumble and abort,
when “salt” is “sex” and “wall” is “wart”…
When “win” is “whine” and “nod” is “nude”
And speed is slow and mad’s the mood!!
The universe will soon reveal
the secret that it does conceal;
the reason for this pain and strife,
a new found purpose in my life?
Though now my thoughts are out of sorts
I still expel some fine retorts!
Just kindly tell me if you please…
WHERE HAVE I PUT MY BLOOMIN KEYS???
Footnote:
Published in 1997 in the former M.E. Canada newsletter and B.C. Fibromyalgia the same year
About Colleen:
Colleen was in two car accidents, one in 1994 followed by another in 1995. She came down with a flu and was diagnosed with ME/CFS, FM and MCS in 1996 after a year of symptoms. She spent three years in a wheelchair then slowly recovered to 50%, had a baby and went on to be a mom and work partime again for 7 years. In the last year she had a relapse and is “…..working on pulling out of it. I am aiming for a full recovery, slowly, one day at a time.”
