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Wednesday 14 September 2011

Parkinson's

Poetry Jam's prompt for this week was to write something on prescribed drugs.

To move at all
she needs to take the pill,
the yellow one
that makes her ill.
But still,
she needs to move,
though taking it,
she's not just ill,
but covered head to toe
in spiders, snakes
and sundry slimy things.
And not just her;
the walls as well,
the garden and the street.
They're trying to adjust
the dosage - just a tad
to meet her need
for sanity.

20 comments:

Isabel Doyle said...

Oh Mr King, you have etched the truth about the drugs that torture while they save - and the inexplicable nonchalance of the medical world to the side effects that create havoc. Bitter pills indeed, but a fine poem.

Mary said...

Parkinson's is indeed a dreadful disease, and the drugs do have side effects. I don't think the medical world though is nonchalant about side effects. They are working on finding better treatments, hopefully a cure. Dave, your poem portrayed the situation SO well. One has to find the right balance.

Jim Murdoch said...

My wife’s regimen of medication fills a carrier bag every month. Pills, lotions, drops. I have reminders set up on my laptop to tell her when to take the stuff because, as you say, it’s a balancing act. And the relief the pills provide never quite reaches until the time she’s due her next dose.

Carl said...

This one while brilliant hit me a little too close to home.

Lolamouse said...

Sometimes the cure is worse than the ailment, indeed.

Elizabeth Grimes said...

Oh my goodness, but that's SO true sometimes.

Titus said...

Great pace and halting rhythm - form and theme so right together. And moving.

Mishilicious Mishi said...

wow! em taking some heavy antibiotics these days and gosh this is how I feel after taking them;p

kaykuala said...

Dave, Our life revolve around them. Pill popping for a reason. But just how to cope with it when each doctor would peddle their kind. We end up with plenty of 'medicines' in our bags!

Hank

jabblog said...

You have struck the truth here - I hope the medical profession manages to find the right balance.

Louise said...

A scary place for sure.

Haley Barnes said...

I really enjoyed this. Thank you.

Anna :o] said...

Scary stuff Dave and I think very accurate.

Anna :o]

JeannetteLS said...

This one made me cry ... good poetry can do that, all the while it hit too close to where I live, and I think I must not look at it again.It recalls a time best left behind. Remarkable.

Windsmoke. said...

Somtimes i wonder if any medication is really safe to use and worth putting up with the side effects :-).

Dave King said...

Isabel
Wonderful last sentence. Thanks for the comment.

Mary
The poem describes a true situation as it was a few weeks ago. Happily, the drugs have now been adjusted and the situation is much better.

Jim
Yes, we have the same problem. When the surgery switched from weekly prescriptions to monthly, I went to collect the month's supply from the pharmacy, but they couldn't find it. I joked "It'll be out the back in a wheelbarrow!" She looked at me and went straight out the back. No wheelbarrow, but she came back with a sack-sized bag!

Carl
Know what you mean, I thought long and hard before writing it, never mind posting.

Lolamouse
Indeed, it is.

Elizabeth
Unfortunately, yes. As I've said above, it is based on a true case.

Titus
Thank you so much. That is so good - and helpful - to know.

Mishi
Hi, welcome to the blog. They can be very tiresome. Hope you're through with them soon.

kaykuala
You've put your finger on possibly the biggest problem.

jabblog
Thanks, yes, as I've said above, they did in this case.

120 Socks
Very.

Haley
Hi! Thank you for your comment - and a warm welcome to the blog.

Anna
Pretty much it was all true. Thanks for responding, and welcome.

JeanetteLS
Thank you so much for that. I'm sorry if it took you back to where you'd rather not have been, but I'm pleased to hear that it is in the past. May it stay there.

Windsmoke
I don't think there is any that could be guaranteed 100%

Carl said...

Hi Dave the personal ones are always like that aren't they?

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh, goodness. This is brilliant as usual. Your words suggest far more than they say. Mkaes me feel as if creepy crawlies are all over me, too!

Hannah Stephenson said...

Uch, that is so sad...medicine hurts and helps us.

Lots of pain in between these seemingly nimble lines, Dave.

Liz Rice-Sosne said...

This is brilliant. You have said so much more eloquently with a poem than what one would have been able to do with prose. And you would think that the opposite should take place. However, here you have painted an excellent picture and elicited the needed emotional responses to that picture. This is very fine.