A poem about a disease that damages the body gradually but relentlessly.
Doesn’t usually announce its onset acutely,
Injures the body gradually, bit by bit;
All important is blood glucose control.
Both the young and the old can get it.
Eye blurriness/blindness may be damage’s toll.
The nerves are major pathological targets.
Ever so slowly kidney damage may worsen mutely.
Silently symptoms progress … the body becomes unfit.
Many lose toes, feet, legs to neuropathology.
Even skin wounds/cuts may be slower to heal.
Lifetime management involves pharmacology.
Letting your diet slip will break the deal.
It’s hard to fight the fight each and every day.
The disease will defeat those of weak will.
Uncontrolled damages will ultimately kill.
So, only lifelong dedication keeps the disease at bay.
While you have described type II diabetes very well, I hate the idea of a poem about a disease. I shouldn't complain, because I write poems about almost anything, good or bad, and this is certainly not the first one written about a disease. It's just that diabetes is such a downer.
I know we are all living longer and that is part of the problem. My grandfather lived a pioneer life but ate a lot of canned food and excessively salted food, ending up with I blood pressure leading to a stroke and diabetes by the time he was in his early 60s.
The combination of lifestyle (lack of physical exercise) and diet (ready available convenience food) leading to society's overall obesity are the primary factors in diabetes.
Fortunately, at 73, paralyzed 53 of those years, I paid attention to my exercise and my diet, and did not have diabetes like my grandfather, and his daughter, my mother, and will probably never get it or high blood pressure because blood my stare and blood pressure are still normal.
A further collection of poems, many from years in the Middle East, but also the California San Francisco and Central Coast areas (Santa Cruz, Carmel, Big Sur, Berkeley, etc.).
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I know we are all living longer and that is part of the problem. My grandfather lived a pioneer life but ate a lot of canned food and excessively salted food, ending up with I blood pressure leading to a stroke and diabetes by the time he was in his early 60s.
The combination of lifestyle (lack of physical exercise) and diet (ready available convenience food) leading to society's overall obesity are the primary factors in diabetes.
Fortunately, at 73, paralyzed 53 of those years, I paid attention to my exercise and my diet, and did not have diabetes like my grandfather, and his daughter, my mother, and will probably never get it or high blood pressure because blood my stare and blood pressure are still normal.
Ron