i don't like watching you
exaggerate my condition.

sorry,
i should say,
our
condition.

you call it a disease
and that is not a lie.

you call it an illness
and that is also true.

but where you cross the line
is when you call it
a
"disability."

legally we are broken.

it is a tragedy
that our lives have a monetary value
and we pay it every time
we walk to the pharmacy counter.

but do not call yourself
disabled
with the tone
implying "disabled"
equals
"weak"
or
"helpless"

not when you
haven't even seen a quarter
of what others have seen.

not when you
haven't learned how
to grow up.

you are not special.
i am not special.
we are not special.

keeping our physical bodies alive
is one thing.

your perception of "strength"
is our perception of "insecure"

i don't understand why diabetes
needs to be a personality trait.

our lives are different

we're broken
we're "sick"

but we could deal with it
with grace

why can't you deal with it
with grace?

awareness is important
but if it only benefits you,
is it awareness
for anyone
else?

i'm worried my rights
will be questioned
by your actions.

our lives are already for profit,
the government calls us
whatever they like

i'm not asking you to hide

i'm asking you to stop
pretending

you are perfectly capable.
i keep telling you
to get help

you don't listen.

don't exaggerate
my friends' lives

don't imply our weakness

we might be sick
but we have control

don't take the power away
from the rest
of us