So I’ve recently started writing a few poems about life with M.E. which I figured I might as well share with you all. However I’m rubbish at coming up with titles for them so they shall probably remain nameless unless anyone has any suggestions!

Here’s my first one:

I don’t party and I can’t drink,
The noise is too much and all I want is to sleep.
I rarely go out, no cinema trips for me,
It takes too much energy and the light floors me.
Work is impossible and walking hard,
I do what I can but it’s often marred,
By people saying it’s all in my head,
If only they knew what I wished instead.

I manage to study and for that I’m lucky,
I appreciate it but don’t get too plucky.
Phone calls are difficult, email is best,
I can’t lift a kettle and then there’s the rest.
I have to use crutches, a walking stick and more.
A wheelchair, a shower seat or else I’m on the floor.

I study, I eat, I blog and I rest.
I wash, I dress, I sleep; well do my best.
For that’s not always possible, it’s not how it goes.
I just have to live with it, even when I’m low.
I focus on achievements, no matter how small,
And wait for a cure or improvement to call.

For now I must wait, resting a lot,
With my home like a prison but the haven I’ve got,
Social networks a lifeline, like nobody knew,
A place to connect with many like you!
All this is happening at the age of twenty-one,
In the blink of an eye, my youth has all but gone.

©Clare Wood

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