Poem #62: A little ditty about a horrible illness with an even more horrible name

By no other name

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Fatigue.

Seriously?

Let’s talk about the long hard nights

Of fevers and sore throats,

And body aches too strong to fight,

And chills, cold sweats, and then…

We’ll spend some time on other things,

Like memory and IQ,

Which--poof!--are gone when illness rings,

And (surprise!) it’s for you.

Then “urgency” and IBS,

Weakness, rashes, pain…

So tell me now, or let me guess,

What is THIS called, again?

This is no common tiredness,

No day-to-day fatigue,

The illness “they” call CFS

Is, properly, M.E.*

*M.E. stands for: Myalgic Encephalomyopathy (or, sometimes, encephalomyelitis)

© 2013, by Hannah Six

Poem #62: A little ditty about a horrible illness with an even more horrible name