"I Wish I could Tell You"

[Jaime_Aus]

Sharing a couple of poems I wrote recently. One is about wanting to explain to other people about my chronic pain, (and knowing they probably won't understand!) and the other is about those people who don't understand, and how they often view the situation.
I'm sure many can relate...
:o


I Wish I could Tell You

I wish I could tell you,
About the depth of my pain,
It’s almost never-ending,
And hard to explain.

I wish I could tell you,
How broken I feel inside,
My body just hurts so much,
But it’s easy to hide.

I wish I could tell you,
I can’t function very well,
Difficult to get around,
But no one can tell.

I wish I could tell you,
But you wouldn’t understand,
That I often have to ask,
For a helping hand.

I wish I could tell you,
How I honestly feel,
But you wouldn’t believe me,
That this pain is so real…

{©2008 Jan B.}


You Don’t Look Sick

You don’t look sick,
You look just the same,
You can’t be hurting,
No reason you can blame.

You look alright,
You seem OK to me,
You can’t be in pain,
No reason I can see.

You look fine now,
You don’t look that bad,
You can’t be hurting,
No reason to be sad.

You look quite well,
You still get around,
You can’t be in pain,
No reason can be found…

{©2008 Jan B.}

~Jaime~

[Debbie71]

Jaime...those poems say it all. I try to get family and friends to understand that I am in pain, but they look at me and say, "You don't look like you hurt." I have numerous diagnosis and no one knows unless you have walked a mile in my shoes. Keep posting more poems!

[jess2002]

I really liked those poems I am sorry your in alot of pain, unfortunately for myself my husband is one of those people where if you look alright then you must be alright. Jess.

[waves]

Your poems really speak out.

I feel for you... a certain empathy while i do not myself suffer from chronic pain. i too suffer from "invisible" pain at times... depression... i am bipolar. And i know how it is when people just do not see, cannot understand, cannot fathom that one may need help with the littlest things, that activities that most take for granted are a huge struggle, or even out of reach, and that the pain itself, in your case physical, in mine, mental, can barely be alleviated, and cannot be eradicated by distraction, pep talks or *shudder* ... "getting off one's butt" :eek: :(

Keep writing. For me it helps somewhat transferring pain to paper, making it tangible in that way. Perhaps it helps you too. Anyway, you do write very well.

~ waves ~

[Toad]

Jaime,

I have been attempting a response that ‘might’ have adequately complimented since you posted this, I have failed.

The best I can do:

While reading anything if you are always thinking anticipatorily ahead, of what is to follow, then you can picture what was happening here. As I was reading (probably every stanza) I would be thinking quite nearly what you followed with. Example:


I wish I could tell you,
How broken I feel inside,
My body just hurts so much,
But it’s easy to hide.

Before the end I was thinking basically “oh yes, but that is so easy to hide” so as I finished stanza(s) I was yelling out “YES” and “EXACTLY”.

I suppose had anyone been listening they might have thought I was watching a sporting event, merely by the enthusiastic responses; agreeable whatever I was doing.

I suppose I could have said “great poem” or “I can relate” yet doing so left me back to the point of the poem: if they do not suffer from it, they are not likely to understand it.

Complicated response for a complex comprehension.

Thank you for sharing this, it was a first for me; words defining chronic pain succinctly.

todd

[Lavandula Canadensis]

Jaime_Aus,
i read your poem for the second time today
i definitely can relate...
it inspired me the following lines:

i wish you could
simply, take a moment
to really look at me
deep into my eyes
with an open heart
and an open mind
then you would see
and would understand
how real my pain is