I wrote this poem on April 8, 2018, about the pain that my chronic illnesses inflict upon me. The poem was originally posted on Medium. It earned me a whole seven cents shortly after I posted it – and nothing after that.
It is difficult to find poetry on Medium – and I think that is part of the reason why this poem got very little attention from readers. So, I pulled it off of Medium and moved it over here, to my own blog. Maybe I should have just posted this poem here in the first place.
I read “That Demon Named Pain” on episode 062 of Words of Jen.
That Demon Named Pain
That demon named Pain
Has come back around to torment me
Demands all of my attention
Won’t let me sleep, eat, or focus on anything
Other than itself
An insatiable creature
It steals away everything of value
My time, health, quality of life
Robs me of all that sustains me
Laughs, and wants more
That demon Pain
With its jealously-green colored skin
Shrinks my world ever smaller
Convinces friends to keep their distance
Beyond a sea of canceled plans
Sometimes, I break free
Walk outside for a while
That demon Pain hunts me down
Like a vengeful, controlling, partner
Who exacts a heavy price
Now, I’m getting “side-eye”
While sitting in a priority seat on the bus
They can’t see my invisible illnesses
That demon Pain rips and burns my body
I grimace and refuse to scream
Things that ease the symptoms
Provide small moments of blissfulness
The illusion dissipates all too soon
Right back to being tortured by
That demon named Pain
That Demon Named Pain is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites.
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