The F-Word (Can you spell Fibromyalgia) by Joy-Amy Wigman

[Jigwam]

Yes, it's one of those new "made up" diseases,

See, the more I blurt out, the more it increases

The chance I'll be able to keep things on track,

And not tear your throat out when the voice yells "Attack!"

Ha. Ha.

No, it's not just that I can't be bothered to get out of bed,

See it toys with your muscles, sticks its fingers in your head,

And this, for me, is intensely frustrating,

And I've found the best way to keep on is creating

Lyrics, to spew forth the wild and absurd,

Globules of brain filth, poetic lemon curd

that clog my synapses, stop brain pulses moving,

To get on with my life and not just stand there grooving

To sounds in my head and rhythms in the street

while my body finds it hard to even move my feet.

'Cause with Fibromyalgia comes chronic fatigue

So sometimes movement itself is out of my league.

And if my mind is too full of emotional goo,

It forgets that it's there to control my limbs too.

So I pour out the words to combat limb deadness,

Spread brain marmalade that is more shred than shredless,

But it steals shit it doesn't need like some klepto crap fanatic,

And I clear out the dead stuff like Sherlock Holmes's brain attic,

to find that I've lost something vital. Like Scrabble.

Or the ability to speak without starting to babble.

But if I don't then things slow like those dreams where you run,

from a vast hoard of zombies or a kid with a gun

And no matter how hard you push, the world slows

And the distance between you and escape grows and grows.

But I'm not asleep, and my grip on reality

Is nothing but fingernail marks on my sanity.

And my only option is to try and sleep through

And pray that if I wake I can move when I do.

So yes, I talk a lot of gubbins and my mind is on the roof,

But my previous experience is more than enough proof

That the more brain Cheddar, Edam, Gruyère,

Stilton, Blue Monday, Brie, Camembert,

I can vent at you, the more I can function.

So if you don't enjoy this cheesy brain luncheon,

then me and my “invented ailment” bid you adieu!

Oh had I mentioned it's immensely painful too?

Like a slow crackling fire lit under the skin,

Or thousands of miniature bites from within?

I suppose you could call it Fibromyzombies,

Makes you slow and feels like the undead are getting their nommies,

But no, you're right, it's a made-up disease,

I only mention for attention, to get people to please

my need to feel freakish, like I'm causing a fuss.

Oh, on your way home, if you encounter a bus,

Feel free to step in front of it as it pulls away.

Then maybe I'll bump in to you at the doctor's someday,

And dude, don't worry, cause I've completely got your back,

When someone smirks when you've left and whispers.......“Hypochondriac"

[Hidden]

Exellant I like the slow crackling fire lit under the the skin. That, I am still learning to live with but the last few days the Fibro monster has turned up the heat......Sue

[Hidden]

Love this very very much

You should publish it xxx

Healing and comforting fluffies for you

xxxsianxxx

[Ginsing]

That was a journey in a rhyme thank you, for breathing life into every line. xgins

[haribo36]

That was very good,did you write it yourself?xxx

[Fibrofoggiest]

Wow that is so so good, you have captured everything we feel .............. Incredible !!

I agree with zeb, you should get it published if you haven't already, honestly !!

Foggy x

[Jigwam]

Thank you all so much! I do performance poetry and I always take the opportunity to talk to the audience about Fibro before I do this one. I am looking in to getting a collection published but I'd love to see this one in print!

x

[Shazzzy]

I would like to see this and any others you wrote in print too, it was awesome, what a brilliant talent.

[Hidden]

Absolutely brilliant. That was completely amazing. I echo everything everyone else has said.

BM

[Royalspec01]

wow powerful poem really could relate to that final verse ty for sharing that. liz xxx

[tulips123]

wow!

[Cookie72]

Hi there jigwam I echo everything that has been said,you are brilliant, it points out nearly all the different pains we have , how long did it take you to do....gentle hugs....Dee x

[Jigwam]

Thanks again! It actually didn't take that long to write this one. Sometimes it just flows and comes out whole, sometimes in tiny drips and drabs. The bugger with this one was learning to say it out loud for performance purposes! It's rather full of tongue twisters!

[bluebell10]

thats brilliant! maybe it could be made into a song & raise money for fibromyalgia awareness & other "invisible" illnesses, you know like when they do those charity things on tv, sorry but i can't remember what it's called it usually has lots of different money raising things in the same programme & i think it's on a friday night about once a year. has Eamon holmes or someone like that presenting it. x