Best Neuropathy Poems
A diesel generator
drowns out the rusted Marshall stack
Six years we owned
the Billboard charts;
the DJ who crowned us
every summer
for five straight years—
this week, a county fair;
tonight, the Music Pier.
The drummer tapes two split fingers
closes his hand once
hard—
then rests the sticks
by Mick’s ashes
in a Folgers Black Silk can behind the kit
Tommy’s gold sequins
snag on his dialysis catheter
as he sits
Johnnie the P-bassist drags a stool onstage
to ease his neuropathy
We are crushed elderberries
hawking CDs from a card table,
bleeding a dark, tart stain
onto ninety aluminum chairs
No teenagers weep;
a man wipes funnel-cake grease
from his chin
As I tune the cherry-red '57 Stratocaster
down a minor third,
hoarse from pushing air
through a throat scraped thick
with scar tissue
We were a dense, golden field
beneath the studio lights
on Midnight Special
Now plucked dandelion crowns
scatter over Ferris wheel blacktop,
leaving white ghost-tufts
snagged in the Music Pier’s
boardwalk planks
Where just three bald stems
plug into the seaside damp—
and the seeds drift past the shoreline,
washed up,
vanishing into the deep
we used to call home
I now type with only a finger
For neuropathy makes me lame
Muscle spasms in hands linger
My hands seem to ignore my brain
It’s as if I never was a typist
Who flew 65 words a minute
Now I’m limited my gripe is
Takes me longer to finish
You’d think I’d complain I’m not vain
My other deficiencies are worse
But who wants an artist who can’t paint
Or a poet too hurt to word verse
I know my lupus has no cure
My asthma is no fun to me
But give me fingers fast and pure
To delight in the writing with ease
When I try to play piano
Fudge fingers suck the air
Notes yell like silver Soprano
A melody ruined by despair
I have mixed feeling about it
We all have a cross to bare right
But with fingers like mine I doubt it
Could complain and moan all night
Dear poetess had hip surgery
And has persevered despite all
So I say what the nerve of me
To complain of finger pain small talk
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
Cold blooded diabetes
Try to stop her
If you can because
Insulin shots are not fun
But they must be given
When you're dealing with
Cold blooded diabetes
Will ravage your body
it can cause gangrene
And limb amputation
So take good care of yourself
When you deal with
Cold blooded diabetes
After you're diagnosed
Doctors will say
Exercise, manage your diet
And please lose some weight
Just because you deal with
Cold blooded diabetes
If you haven't got it yet
Please try to prevent
The neuropathy that accompanies
The body's breakdown
For those who deal with
Cold blooded diabetes
pain misdiagnosed for three years
encouraging prognoses based on lies
wish I could return to more carefree days
but now I know neuropathy has my life on the line
pain subsides as numbness sets in
in time I’ll feel nothing at all
but the bliss of eternal life
when my autonomic nervous system shuts down
no fear, no tears
just expectation
reuniting with loved ones who passed
sharing love that never dies
in the spirit world
my final destination
*Entry for LeighAnn’s “Afflictions” Contest
Collaborating in the Clouds
Dear Lord, so often I hear Your most loving voice
Are You calling me home or giving me a choice?
The neuropathy is a challenge for I gave you
But on your path to heaven, I will see you through
Please don’t judge me by the many tears I have shed
I am weak; You are strong. By Your strength I am led
Gentle lady, rest assured I’ll not judge in haste
Only on the love you gave will your fate be based
How can I know I’ve given enough to others
Love for humanity, all sisters and brothers?
Your kind acts have far exceeded your mistakes
The love web you spun, I’ll be sure it never breaks
Will my parents and husband be waiting for me
When I come to the end of this lifelong journey?
They are here with Me now, and John sends you a kiss
They wait for you to join in their eternal bliss
*Entry for PD’s “Collaborating in the Clouds” contest
By Carolyn Devonshire, June 28, 2012
I really look dumb,
my hands so numb;
my legs are in pain,
that goes to my brain;
my arms really ache,
as each breath I take;
my heart skips a beat,
neuropathy kills my feet;
take 32 varied pills a day,
but the pain wont go away;
my eyes are both blurred,
my ears haven't heard;
my stomach is bloated,
my intestines are coated;
my cholesterol is peaked,
triglycerides are freaked;
but it's my old age,
that gives me my rage.
I got bad feet,
diabetically speaking
The proper medical terminology,
or so the doctors tell me,
it’s chronic neuropathy
These feet don’t have feelings
like the rest of my body
I’m just a live man walking on dead feet
You can step on my toes
and I won’t feel it
Now if you step on my heart,
well, that’s a matter altogether different
Not feeling it ain’t all bad —
early retirement
is a fruit smoothie table side
and a lounge chair ...
kicking my feet up in the air
Feet if you fail me now,
I really don’t care
Can you dig where this brother’s coming from ...
can you feel the pain I do occasionally get in my feet?
Crippling pain which makes you a potted plant
that can’t even run
It feels like you’re walking on hot needles
shot from a blow dryer gun
You say you’re not feeling it,
well good for you
Just remember, one day
them might not be
your most comfortable shoes
Neuropathy in my hands.
A panoply is the rest.
A screw loose in my head.
With itis through my back.
It's what old sawbones said.
But he saved the best for last.
Seems I have two more days
Please pass the ham and mayonnaise
**This pain from having Neuropathy, it's affected me so much more,
And it's affecting my left lower limb, alot more than just the right.
It's also getting to where, it's impossible to ignore,
Lord I truly hope, I'm able to rest tonight.
**Also there have been times, where it's become too much to take,
I do not know why or how my condition came to be.
If only this evil pain, would ease up to give me a break,
Why, Oh Heavenly Father, is this now happening to me?
**Because ever since I was diagnosed, it's made me very depressed,
Especially since this pain, has steadily gotten worse.
And since I've been losing mobility to walk, it makes me overstressed,
Why, Oh Heavenly Father, must I endure this evil curse?
**So I have accepted this is chronic, and it may never go away,
And there's more than likely not much of a chance that it'll ever go into remission.
I just cannot comprehend, how it's affected me in every way,
But why, Oh Heavenly Father, must I suffer with this condition?
I walked with Colby,
he never walked with me
His spirit to guide us,
his love in the lead
We circled the globe
a time and a half
His tail was my compass
to guide us steadfast
In all kinds of weather
we stuck to the trail
Under sunshine and rain
our forays prevailed
In May of last year
he collapsed on our walk
And with valor he tried
but his body would balk
Its been downhill since then
with him not knowing why
The knowing inside me
his neuropathy slide
I knew it was coming
as he struggled to stay
And he fought till the end
on this very sad day
As I looked in his eyes
for the last final time
Willing to give up my life
for his health to revive
The fates were against us
his clock had run out
The pain in his parting
—the joy I’m without
(Villanova Pennsylvania: November 9th, 2018)
‘Today, I lost The Best Friend I Ever Had’
**My mental state here lately, hasn't been very well,
Mainly because of everything I'm medically battling through.
But whenever it's gotten to be too much, I feel like I blasted through Hell,
My body's physically drained, & my mind is also feeling it too.
**Since I first started coping with these horrific & progressive conditions,
It feels like I've been struck by a nuclear double curse.
Already knowing I've lost some mobility, it's not fair there's no remissions,
I'm just 37 yet inside, I can tell it's only going to get worse.
**Though this one small realization, it's tough to even say,
I literally wasn't this feeble, just a few short years ago.
Back then I could walk with no issues, unfortunately I cannot today,
What I'm battling is like an avalanche, trying to bury me underneath its snow.
**And I can sense who's reading this is curious, so I suppose it's time that I reveal,
To let you know exactly how much pain I'm having to endure.
It's both Neuropathy and Lymphedema, killing the nerves which allows me to feel,
I hate that it's even happening, even God agrees I'm sure.
**So for now I will close this poem & go,
No matter how much pain I'm in, I'm still going to enjoy my day.
Although I'm hurting terribly, I'm trying hard to not let it show,
Because not even these two conditions, can steal my happiness away.
1.Nerve pain often feel like stabbing or burning sensation.
2.Neuropathic people are often sensitive to heat and cold.
3.Abnormal acivity in the nerves cause neuropathic disturbance.
4.Pressure on nerves cause tingling.
5.Loss of nerves cause weakness.
Note.Abnormal function causes changes in muscles and sensory tissues.
Suffering with a traumatic
brain injury nerve damage
traumatic headaches neuropathy
spalastity degenerative brain injury
it's a blessing to have medical care
out reach support groups balancing
pain my entire body filled with
crippling nerve pain sensitive to
light touch finding support groups
I find swimming helps in between
nerve blocks injections and botox
injections to give me some relief
keeping me comfortable during
severe traumatic pain it's a blessing
to have the neuroboxing team
on board amazing help for retired
boxers anyone Suffering with
head trauma like Mohammed
Ali Alex Ramos many other boxers
athletes my uncle Bob Satterfield
would be so pleased if he was alive this
legacy inspired me to continue
to fight through unsettling crippling
pain for my traumatic brain injury
traumatic headaches awareness
saves lives i know I would literally die
without my medication and treatment
God bless the USA
**This morning I had awoken, with this swelling in both
my hands,
And however this had started, I do not have a clue.
I wonder if there are people in my support who
understands,
Is this another symptom, that I will have to go through?
**One thing that will upset me, is losing my ability to
write,
I'd be very devastated, if I could not finish my book.
I swear that this condition, is like a thief in the night,
Disguised up as the Devil, who is nothing but a crook!
**| still cannot believe, how fast this has progressed,
Or how it all began, I honestly cannot see.
I also hate the fact, it's making me feel depressed,
I just think it's crazy that this crap is happening to me.
**So Lord, right now I ask You, to reserve my hands to
write,
So I'm able to inform others, about what Neuropathy can
do.
Have Your angels surround me, as they come to me in
flight,
In this I ask in Your Name, for I dedicate my book to You.