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Leaving my car, I hasten my pace as
silent pain, screaming inside me
intensifies with the increasing movements made
by what I only can describe as an invisible snake
slithering beneath my flesh.
It’s felt by only me, and seen by no one -
the strange phenomenon
of a nervous system gone awry from side effects
of the “miracle” of modern medicine.
I know my conditions now by the title of Neuropathy,
but that definition does not come close to
describing what I experience unceasingly.
Mere “tingling or numbness” 
would be preferable  
to the feeling of a slithering serpent
squeezing or pressing down along my back.

Striding into the grocery store,
I find what I need as quickly as I can.
At any time, my metaphorical serpent
might decide to wildly strike, 
perhaps while in the checkout line as I wait
with my silent screaming -
Please, line, move! Just let me finish here!
Afterward, with grocery bags in hand,
I scramble to my car.
Once inside, I press my back against my seat.
Ahhhh, relief!
The snake loses its momentum when I am reclined
or pressing myself against a surface,
and so I am not physically as active as I used to be.

People with chronic unseen disabilities
are not just a few.
When you chance to see someone fidgeting
in a line, looking as if
they’d like to “jump out of their skin,”
maybe you are seeing someone like me
with silent pain, screaming
from within.

Nov. 19, 2022
For Edward Ibeh's Pick-A-Title, Vol 33 Poetry Contest
#3 chosen: Silent Pain, Screaming

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