poetry

I find art very therapeutic but recently I have been trying my hand at poetry and have written two poems about living with a chronic illness. I have written them openly so they can be about any chronic illness.

Just because
Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there.
Just because I'm smiling, doesn't mean I'm ok.
Just because I'm calm, doesn't mean I'm not fighting.
Just because you can't see my symptoms, doesn't mean I'm well.
Just because I'm ok today, doesn't mean I will be fine tomorrow.

Just because I'm standing, doesn't mean I can't fall.
Just because I struggle, doesn't mean I'm not strong.
Just because I live with this daily, doesn't mean it's my life.
Just because you don't know its name, doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Just because it's not talked about, doesn't mean I suffer alone.

My pain is real.
My illness persists.
My struggle is daily.
But my life is more than this.
We are not alone!

The second poem is inspired by the poem pretty ugly by Abdullah Shoaib its a poem that when you read down you get one meaning, then when you read from the bottom up you get another. so read each line from top to bottom and then bottom to top.

Invisible Illness
Am I a warrior?
I am weak.
My struggle is daily, so I don't think,
I am a strong person.
By the end of a long day,
I don't think I can cope.
I won't tell myself,
there is strength inside me.
I keep telling myself,
its all in my head, it's not that bad.
Others will not make me feel,
I deserve support.
At the end of it all,
I don't deserve any empathy or sympathy.
I can not believe that you understand.
Because when I see how you look at me I think,
Am I chronically ill?