3. condition

woke up with an ache,

it’s typical,

i stare in the mirror,

don’t look sick

but i feel it,

one of those days

incoming,

turning in knots,

all i can do

is lay in bed,

diet of soup and toast,

they say ginger ale

is the miracle,

but i’m waiting for it

to kick in.

i’ve known i’m not normal,

nine long years,

gone in and out

of hospitals,

and it won’t go away,

i know i’ve got it

for the rest of my life,

i’ve fought for this long

and i know i have

to keep going,

it’ll always hang over me

with everything i do,

and i know that

i can handle it.

but i just want a day

without the stomach pain,

where i won’t

have to worry

if my dinner

will rip me to shreds,

where a trip

to the bathroom

won’t feel like

a death sentence,

where i don’t

have to constantly think

about my condition

taking away great things

that i’m offered in life,

where that interference

is non-existent,

where i didn’t

have to feel

like sick days

were the standard.

where i was normal.