Physical pain is our body’s warning message, telling us to take notice and action.
I’ve always thought of pain as my enemy. I wanted to get rid of it, ignore it. I didn’t want pain in my life. It was a foreigner, an enemy, not a friend. How could something so annoying be a friend? I’d get relief from natural therapies, but I refused to take a holistic, balanced approach to my pain. I did not go to a medical doctor to get it investigated, even though one natural therapist wanted me to. I foolishly gritted my teeth and soldiered on. This poem is Part 2 of a series about my journey with cancer.
How I interpret this feature image is that the hand touching the face is pain being felt, making its presence known. The beautiful, bright swirling colours are pain, which is seen as a friend, not an enemy. Beverley Joy
April 2023
Listen HERE – Poem – The Friendship of Pain
I travelled north to celebrate
An anniversary and a birthday
Family gather from interstate
Busy preparing to make it great.
I usually enjoy the train journey
Eight hours through country scenery
But this time, my back was screaming in pain
I counted the hours till I could escape.
Hot water packs and pain relief
Resting while others were preparing
The hustle and bustle of the day
I watched while others participated.
“Soldier on, it will go away. “
As the party MC and DJ
I led, I sang, I cooked, I cleaned
To help make it a great memory.
The day after, I felt inept
I couldn’t help but clean the mess
Usually, it’s me who gets things done
Restricted and frustrated, I felt my full age.
I apologised, I said goodbye
I travelled home, and I did not know
The message my body was shouting at me
“Urgent. Get help a.s.a.p.”
Every day for decades
This nagging voice would not abate
As a whisper, then a murmur
As the years went by, it got louder.
“Leave me alone, stop poking me
Get out of my way, you’re preventing me
From living my life, full and fast
I’ll silence you with chemical drugs.”
Oh, why had I not listened
And show respect to this friend
Desperate to warn me
Of my future catastrophe.
Beverley Joy of Simply Story Poetry © 2023 All Rights Reserved.
Listen to all my poems HERE
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