You keep on going ... one day at a time ..
You keep on going ... one crisis at a time ..
You keep on going ... one event, one holiday at a time ..
You keep on going ... one season at a time ..
You keep on going ... by venting when frustrated ..
You keep on going ... by crying when your heart is heavy ..
You keep on going ... by celebrating every good day..
You keep on going ... by sharing your ups and downs with friends ..
You keep on going ... by doing what you can, when you can ..
You keep on going ... by re-defining your self expectations ..
You keep on going ... by remembering that this too will pass ..
You keep on going ... because you are curious as to what
tommorrow will bring ..
You keep on going ... because you want to be there to share
special events with loved ones ..
You keep on going ... because your work on this world
isn't done yet ..
You keep on going ... because you are needed and loved
just the way you are ..
Frustration...
Anger overflowing;
Pain in every fiber of my body
... but ebbs and surges.
Unrelentless ... Searing.
Unrelenting ... Tearing.
Vision blurrs and fades
... but bright lights flicker in the darkness.
Skin burns - Muscles cramp and twitch.
Stomach revolts in dry heaves ...
The world spins, pitches, distorts.
The doctor laughs at my suffering,
... refusing aid.
Days - fade to
Weeks - pass into
Months - crawl into
Years - uncountable.
The cycle of pain remains unbroken.
I am human and worthy of attention.
I am human and worthy of relief.
(c)Phyllis Griffiths © 2001.
Another friend has gone
Another friend has gone..
Phyllis Griffiths (c) 1999
I feel numb inside
My heart is torn
There is relief that she
suffers no more
There is joy that she
is now with God
There is shock that she
no longer is here
There is grief that she
is another friend gone.
As there is new life
Also is there death
But the circle of love is unending,
And such is the Glory of God.
Insomnia, why dost thou plague me?
Insomnia, where from do you come?
Insomnia, go hence away from me
Phyllis Griffiths, 1999
Your bitter kiss is cold against my flesh
My body yearning ever for the caress of sleep's sweet rest
Denied again another night.
Oh, bitter foe, why dost thou torment me so?
Your sudden touch as flaming lance gives sudden jolts
My body yearning for rest's peaceful relax
Robbed by a thief in the night.
You leave me not ever soon enough
My body knowing not if it be night or day
But just that sleep has finally come,
Blessed, welcomed rest..
Only upon your whim and grace be given
To be again withdrawn too soon.
Take your pains and aches aside
Leave me rest, in blessed peace
My weary bones cry out for mercy's grace
In the middle hours of the morn,
A scarce breath before the dawn.
BRAINFOG
I sit, staring...
My mind gone blank..
Nothingness is my thoughts
My eyes see but do not..
I see through a camera lens
Remote and removed from me.
I see but do not see...
all is surreal, all is distorted.
The act of thought is difficult,
slow and painful.
Pain throbs inside my skull
as I reach for a word..
an understanding.
Memory is buried,
disjointed, inacessable.
Language pauses and retreats.
To see is not to comprehend.
Vision distorts as if
by the very act of concentration
energy is diverted,
circuts disrupted.
Blinding flashes explode
in my brain, in my mind.
Pain blinds me.
Sounds confuse me,
startle me.
Vision and thought are interrupted..
disrupted..
A jolt of lightning unleashed,
body fibers erupt in pain.
I must retreat
into silence.
I sit, unmoving...
My body is on slow motion mode.
To force motion hurts...
muscles resist, tremble,
jerk and spasm..
or go limp and useless.
I must think first, then do...
without direction, without focus
the body sits...
sluggish, unresponsive from within.
I operate my body by remote.
Phyllis Griffiths.