A few years ago when I was twiddling my fingers and looking for blogging inspiration, I found some odd snippets of poetry wafting around my consciousness. No, it was not yet another MS symptom, it was a brief spark of creativity. Not wishing to let the moment pass, I scribbled my thoughts down on a scrap of paper. This moment of levity is a rare occurrence for an MS Warrior, so I seized it and saved it for posterity.
Having multiple sclerosis is not normally a reason for jocularity but we must try to see the funny side of a bad situation. So, a moment of levity can be construed as s time of positive thinking.
A Moment of Levity
My name is Steve, I have a neurological disease
I have consulted my neurologist AND my GP
The problem, it seems, is beyond their expertise
My body is at war, a war it cannot win
The outcome is uncertain as both protagonists are within
My name is Steve, I have multiple sclerosis
It is a condition most debilitating
The symptoms are atrocious
It started in a small way, a tingling in my face
My life was unaffected, I couldn’t see the fuss
It took about ten years to see that I seemed to be losing the race.
But since that time the decline has been insistent
The symptoms still are varied
persistent but not consistent
At this time my walking weakened
My vision wavered and my memory faded
My determination fell and my depression deepened
What began as relapse/remitting
With long periods of near normality
Has become secondary progressive
with prolonged lethargy and a lack of vitality
I see much in other’s positivity
Their talk of power over adversity
MS is a monster, of that there is no doubt
It sneaks up behind you when your guardian is out
Those that choose to fight
Are admired for being warriors
But how do you attack an enemy that is hidden
An enemy that lurks beneath the skin
MS is a journey, the road is not always straight
The knocks and bumps will not determine the outcome or your fate
I have had multiple sclerosis for over 20 years
And had many anniversaries I thought would not appear
I didn’t think I would see 40
I was certain I would never see 50
But I’m still here, fast approaching 70, so there is hope for all.
I vowed to keep this rhetoric nice, short and sweet
Although it is a little longer than I can fit within a tweet.
Many of the videos I’ve seen are much too long to bear.
More than 5 or 10 minutes would drive me to despair.
I hope I have managed to keep this concise
But kept it entertaining enough in order to suffice.
The scrap of paper containing these words has been lost, found and filed many times over the years. But it keeps resurfacing, so it needs to be set free. It is not a work of great literary merit, it is a moment of levity which I hope may brighten your day a little.
I had originally titled this snippet of poetry as “An Ode to my Neurologist” but a last-minute change of heart saw the current title being adopted.
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