Hope Remains

April is Parkinson’s Awareness month. This year awareness is being raised through poetry. I have posted an audio of my poem and this is the written version…

There was a young woman called Melanie O’B,

Who, at the age of 41, was diagnosed with PD,

Up until then life was ever so busy,

and so, her body screamed, ‘Stop and just listen to me!’.

Those first few weeks were filled with so much fear,

She and her loved ones shared many a tear,

Dreams and plans were completely shattered,

This was a wake-up call to focus on what actually mattered!

Most of the time she will shuffle and stumble,

When tired, her words are often a mumble,

Walking has become an embarrassing slog,

Her uncooperative left leg feels like she’s dragging a log.

Her body feels ever so tired and weak,

She is told that the long-term prognosis is bleak,

Each movement lost is a theft,

The constant anxiety leaves her feeling utterly bereft.

However, she still dreams of the day when she will take a full stride,

Oh, how she’ll be beaming with such pride,

She might even get a good night’s sleep,

No more lying wide-awake counting those pesky wee sheep.

She’ll say goodbye to hiding away,

Her limp will become an elegant sashay,

She might even manage to wash and dry her own hair,

but, best of all, people will no longer feel the need to stop and stare.

She never stops holding onto hope,

refusing to give up and just mope,

Yes, she will continue to slip and fall down,

But, she will always get up and straighten that crown!

She’s learned so many things that she needed to know,

So, she will try to simply trust and let go,

Parkinson’s is no longer her greatest enemy,

After all, it has created a much-improved Melanie O’B.

Melanie O’Brien