Fragility blindsides –
I am woman.
Strong.
Courageous, some say –
a sentiment beyond my reach
having not chosen this state.
Fragility is pervasive –
body reduced to miniscule fibers,
stretched, torn, bordering
on broken.
Overwhelmed, mind obsesses –
will neither organize
nor let go…
If only I could let go…
I am weeping
and not
Weeping from frustration –
immediate impossibility –
Unwilling to weep for totality of loss –
it is beyond me.
Illness is regarded
with disgust,
indifference,
repulsion
There is no equality for the disabled
And, yet…
Rawness –
stripped of busy-ness –
renders me as any other
A soul yearning for a meaningful existence.
Maybe illness is the great equalizer.
(The Same, But Broken was first written in December of 2014, when I suffered from severe Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. It is revised here.)
One Woman's Quest 