My Body Poem by Barbara Haskell

My body, used to express
what I do, who I am
and how I dress.
It's the only one I get,
I can't buy another
or even sub-let.
For the first 36 years of my life,
I didn't give my body much thought.
It served me well as a woman and a wife,
functioned every day and every night.
It responded quickly,
like turning on a light.
One day smooth functioning did cease
and constant pain came into my life,
a most invidious beast.
My spirit cheered my body to endure.
The medical establishment would help me,
of this I was sure.
It didn't turn out that way,
no matter what they did or what I tried,
that insidious beast continued to stay.
My spirit cannot comprehend,
it doesn't understand,
why life as I knew it, had to end.

10/10/07