Invisible Illness

Invisible illness that you can't see
It sometimes detracts from me being me
On the outside all looks well
On the inside it's a battle hard to tell

To all those sufferers of illness unseen
Cancer, M.E and depressive afflictions
Hidden drug and alcohol abuse
And undisclosed addictions

I raise a glass to your fight against pain
Your unseen afflictions
Your unknown addictions
Your daily struggle for your health to regain

So please don't judge me on what you see
I've been fighting so hard just to be me
Scything down the pain
Cutting off the tendrils that cling and remain

Each and every day brings new challenges
My medicated shell fights my bodies hell
My mind struggles to map a future
Iatrogenic illness holds sway

We are often unseen
Often unheard
Our words fall beside the wayside
Like unborn flowers on a chemical lawn

Look to your neighbours
The hidden ones
The quiet ones
The voiceless

Invisible illness can strike any one of you
Take hold and bring you down
With loss of work, friends and connections
And eventually loss of life's direction

So look out for the hidden ones
Hiding in plain sight
Speak out to the forsaken
Whose health and lives are taken

For ill health is not always visible
A smiling face can cover a sleepless night of pain
Broken incentives carved up by pains reign
And there'll be mental angst if you refrain.

A kindly word or two
We're only human too
Find the time to stop and ask
About your quiet neighbour's past