"encephalitis" poems
Your life is threadbare
and it's cosy
Uncomfortable
but safe
Poor
yet secure
It's not killing you
but then neither are you living.
The head is above water,
Struggling against the tide.
Grinding along on a hamster wheel
that badly needs oiling
I mean
You now earn less than you did at your first job.
It was **** all then
and that was 5 years ago.
The years have not been kind. The hairline has crept upward
Roughly in line with inflation.
A job's a job's a job's a job's a job.
There's a damp roof over your head.
Are you ready to trade all this in for a taste of adventure?
A main course of personal growth
washed down with a side order of
Drudgery
loneliness
and Japanese Encephalitis.
Will they find you out?
Will you be pulled into an office
while a polite local
explains how her English is better than yours?
That could all happen, says the head
but the frightened, quivering heart longs to change.
To jump into the fire and emerge reborn
strong, dynamic, brave. All the things you aren't now.
Just don't hope for too much.
Apr 22, 2015
Apr 22, 2015 at 6:28 AM UTC
Why did Noah take nits?
Let's pull this ark to bits,
God let Noah take two nits,
Plus two mosquitoes, each proboscis,
Gave humans encephalitis,
What is worse than this?
Why they bring malaria, blip!
What is worse than this?
As well as Noah's two nits,
God let Noah take two rats,
With two fleas on board, that's that,
So Noah brought bubonic plague,
While lovely unicorns floated away,
Then on all those wooden decks,
Noah took two woodpeckers, by heck,
So that was the end of Noah's Ark,
Lucky he wasn't eaten by sharks,
So, why God, did you plan all this, mate?
I know Noah was human to make mistakes,
Taking rats, fleas, mossies, and nits, great!
Was taking two nits more than fate?
Sep 2, 2016
Sep 2, 2016 at 9:53 PM UTC
With my sickness, I'm a monster:
Encephalitis has made me wrong.
Every month, I get to my doctor,
who tells me to actually stay strong!
For I seem like such a horrid being,
my disease formed me to that.
I'm now in a nightmare, dreaming,
since my head’s just spat!
It's sad I sound like a freak,
I've really lost most of my friends.
How I'm now, like a geek,
it just seemed like the end!
Suicide was what I'd thought of:
but good thing I then got through.
Since every lives’ great to adore,
no one’s should ever look blue!
Apr 5, 2017
Apr 5, 2017 at 10:06 PM UTC
(after dean young)
*“there are some parts of the human brain
even carps spit out.”* but the amygdala births worms
which the fish chew quite sweetly. what isn’t
here: one un-slipped stream, one un-swissed
memory. what is: encephalitis, beetle-black shadow
in the water’s meat. some questions prompt answers
like mouths and feeding. ask yourself why fish bones
are like angels if it isn’t their getting stuck
or the filigree. ask yourself why the first words
of a poem are the skin of an unfathomable ocean,
or why you can only ever think about bodies
and feeding. in the throat, i forgot to say. i take
a layer of algae off the table before sitting down to tuna
and the soup in the coffin that is the kitchen sink.
ask yourself: if the water pressure’s been gone for weeks,
why is your hair always soaked in the morning?
Jun 30, 2015
Jun 30, 2015 at 2:05 PM UTC
I am at home nowadays, with a sickness.
With sad ‘Encephalitis’, so poorly fixed,
it has in my weak body need a fitness!
This illness made me lose friends and school,
since those symptoms are harsh, just so cruel.
My body makes me feel like a mental fool!
My specific wish is to get healthier again:
I really want to pick up nicely in my brain.
Ergo, I want not have to, nevermore, complain!
I hope when I am lively with knowledge,
that shall be able to get back into college.
All of my loved folks me could be astonished!
Apr 1, 2017
Apr 1, 2017 at 11:51 PM UTC
Encephalitis is a sad sickness I have,
making me not able to attend college.
I've really been staying at home all day,
it has me with poor knowledge...
I actually lost most of my friends,
so really wish I could make more.
That means I need to get back out,
instead of at home, staying soar...
If I could get out of my house somehow,
it would be able for me to meet new folks.
That would be nice for me to greet a lot,
having me grasping on to my hopes...
I would really like to make more buddies.
Aug 14, 2017
Aug 14, 2017 at 11:46 AM UTC
I've been keeping
A list of things about him
Anything I feel important
Gets noted
His favorite color is green
He has a golden doodle
her name is Sadie
He has auto-immune encephalitis
He swears like it's going out of style
But makes it so suave
Etc. Etc. Etc.
He was feeling sad
Broken
Unappreciated
So I told him to hang on a minute
I needed to get my bag from the car
I threw in my shoes, forgetting socks,
I didn't even grab my jacket
The rain tried to drown me
As I accomplished my mission
I took a few pictures of this list
And hit send
I thought I ****** up
45 minutes went by and
He hadn't said anything
My anxiety was kicking in so
I played first person shooters
With my baby brother
I love that kid
My phone vibrated
Sending pulses of panic
Throughout my existence
"Wow"
One word, no explanation
"Truly amazing"
"No one knows me that well"
The short texts of amazement kept streaming in
Vibration after vibration
He was so happy
That didn't stop him from
Mentioning that he hates
This whole being single thing
But it's for the best when
You've been cheated on by five girls
Again I helped
"Sorry for being clingy the past few days"
I shot an hour or so later
He always tells me it's okay
But I don't think it is
Without missing a beat
He replied
"I love it"
I cried
I cried because
like I told him
He "just made my heart smile
So much that tears fell
No one's ever said anything
Like that me and it washed some
Of my anxieties away"
I proceeded to thank him
He's my best friend so
There's always that love
That exists between friends
So I thanked him for it
He was confused
"Thank you for loving me Evan"
"Samm, I don't have to try to
I love you so much it comes naturally"
This man
So wonderful and imperfect
Yet so flawless
Made me cry again
My heart hasn't ever smiled before
I thought in the past that it has
But that was just butterflies
My heart smiled tonight
**And I've never been so
Sure**
Dec 29, 2017
Dec 29, 2017 at 4:00 AM UTC