Best Dialysis Poems
I wake up early Monday morning
still cold and dark outside
eat my breakfast, take my pills
sit and wait for my ride,
arrive at the center
get comfortable in my chair
like I do 3 times a week
thankful t hat I'm there
I come to every treatment
I never show up late
I eat a healthy diet
and watch my fluid intake
This isn't the life I chose for me
but I have to tell you this
I wouldn't be sitting here today
if it wasn't for Dialysis.
Life was beautiful
Typical teenager
Junior year 2003
Living life’
Walking the halls
Feeling confident
One morning
Walking up the stairs
Lost my breath
Fighting for air
Went to the clinic
Test said negative
Wish it would’ve been positive
Second opinion
UTI
I would’ve accepted that
Day before thanksgiving
Wasn’t feeling thankful
My body was dying
Drowning in its toxins
I woke to a blurry worry
I could hear
But my vision vanish
I couldn’t breathe
Kept my cool
Saving my mama
Heartbreak
Went back to bed
Praying this a dream
This nightmare go away
I knew I was dying
I feared the worst
Sleeping to my death
Which was hours away
My lifeless body shutting down
Midnight follow me
Dogs sense death
She waited for me
By the bathroom
My fears came true
Sounds of the water
No flow
No drop
My world stop
Mama push me to get ready
It took me hour to dress
I had to follow everyone voice
I realize I was really blind
Mama kept asking
Look at her
Had to fight to find her
I finally did
Doctor hit me with a blow
A blow I couldn’t take
She was in tears
She couldn’t get the words out
End Stage Renal Failure
E
S
R
D
I could’ve died a thousand deaths
No words could explain my pain
How did I end up here
16 years old
Felt hopeless
Denial angry
Felt angry
Felt robbed
Robbed of my dreams
Air force
Kids
Family
I walk with my sister and we are young
And her knees are less broken; they swallow
petrel calls and soon we are
equivalent. I call these my oceans. I
shriek with my sister, we wished the
evenings would take our wolf-like sounds
and make us un-speeched.
We are straight and know the meaning of
artificiality. It is this:
jingoism, pesticide,
beaches steeped in rich, naked men.
I promise to protect my sister from optimism,
and together we are impatiently
consumed by mosquito thirst. When we grow
pale, I offer her dirty laundry,
grass stains. In her mind, she is already
past alternatives, and has forgotten
those rhythms. Beneath the ocean, I am
subdued and I am drowning in inanity
And there is a chain wrapped around my sisters
foot; really it is a snake. I am
bellowing the chains, willing her to acquiesce,
but she whispers to the snake,
sweetly, and it slackens, and she is walking
into naked beaches.
(This is a fictional poem)
I have to come here continuously to be on dialysis.
My kidneys are no longer good and I really hate this.
Several of my relatives could've donated a kidney but they all said no.
I've always been good to them and when they refused, it was pretty low.
When my brother had an accident last year, I donated blood.
I even bought him his first car and he treated me like mud.
After three and a half decades, I finally see these relatives for what they are.
Being related to such losers really hurts and it has given me emotional scars.
Maybe I'll get a kidney even though things look pretty grim.
But when it comes to my relatives, I will never forgive them.
Dialysis
Dialysis
What is that
Let's do some research
Get a few facts
It's a procedure to remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood when the kidneys stop working properly
They have to take your blood out
Clean it put it back in
You experience the chills
And sometimes it leaves you in shock
They need heating blankets and cozy socks
To stay warm
They experience so much with their bodies
They have to be dialysised three times a week
It's exhausting
Overbearing
It's scary
I thought this was worth sharing
Your blood pressure can be lowered
You experience muscle cramps
is physically and emotionally draining, causes complications such as nerve problems, anaemia, bone disease and infection. In addition, an arduous regime of three days a week on dialysis can lead to symptoms including nausea, vomiting, cramps and depression.
Whew Let's have a session
My mom had to go go to dialysis for 4 years
Three times a week
She went through a lot
On a machine
Trying to give it your all
Sometimes she would have to get off of it because her body would cramp
She would cry
Unless you were a dialysis patient.
You wouldn't understand why
I salute ?? each one
Each one i wish I could give a hug
You guys are tough ??
And deserve a lot of love
A chronic kidney disease
That comes with no ease
Getting stuck with needles
Getting blood drawn
In and out
Out and in
It can affect the Skin
Leaving all kinds of bruises
And dark spots
You my diaylsis friends will never be forgot
Let's put our hearts together and hold hands
Make this disease better if we can
How can you get checked
If you feel something is wrong
Do us a favor get checked on
Yes it can affect your urine
Maybe even stop you from having children.
I don't know
The more information I get for you
The more I'll let you know
Dialysis doesn't necessarily mean it's the end
Just pick up where you left off
You can still win
I wrote this tribute in honor of my mother
Who is no longer physically here
Rest in Paradise Beautifully my dear
And to all if you feel like it gets Overbearing
Let's honor dialysis and all that we have lost and those who are still fighting
In honor of my mom
Lets get
Kozy for Karen
Written by Concetta Hardnett
01/12/2025