Published in

As For Life: A memoir in poetry exploring the isolation & loss of chronic illness

It Hurts

It hurts to be the one
who is left home alone,
again and again.
It hurts to be the one who
cannot attend the concert,
or dinner afterwards.
It hurts to be the one who is left behind
at Easter, birthdays, Memorial Day picnics,
Mother’s Day.
It is humiliating
to be the reason for cancelled plans,
for activities not attempted,
for friends who no longer visit.

It hurts to become ill
because someone visited with
a contagious virus, or lit up
a cigarette. It hurts when
people forget, fail to
understand, could modify
their choices, and don’t.

It hurts that I don’t know
anyone quite as isolated as I.
I look so healthy, so fine,
they fail to see my pain.

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As For Life

As for Life

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