The Only Spaghetti I Don't Like

😱Atlanta Traffic😱

A source of much frustration

And it will never relent.

This is the trip’s damnation:

Rush hour’s trail of pure torment.

(Josh Evitt, 2019)

A Fresh Start

November

Ae Freislighe is the poetic form that I have chosen for November. It's going to be interesting. So, without further delay, here is my first attempt.

Shepherd Center

MS is my affliction

This place gives me some relief

To help with its infliction:

Many scars, beyond belief!

-Josh Evitt, 2019-

Lookout Below!

Falling

A trip to the floor

Now takes even more

Time for me to rise,

And it’s no surprise.

Because of this MesS,

With all of its stress,

I just want to quit

My struggle with it.

Instead of defeat,

The struggles I face

Will be put in their place!

-Josh Evitt, 2019-

Playing Catch Up

Lazy

     So, I slacked off a bit. Here's the last few weeks all in one.

Infusions

Putting meds in my veins,

Soothing some pains

Sitting still all day

As time flies away

The new med is here

And its process is clear

Six hours to wait

There is no debate

Frustrations

Can’t walk anymore

Afraid of the floor

My right hand can't write

My left hand is a fight

My legs often ‘dance’

I rarely wear long pants

For, when summer begins,

I retreat inside, and MS wins

Predictions

It will progress,

And bring distress,

But I will fight

All through this night

New Month New Style

For October, I've chosen skeltonics. They're a lot of fun.

Injections!
The needle is set
Conditions are met
No time to fret
My training is done
A new med’s begun
These shots aren’t much fun.
-Josh Evitt-

Not Going ANYWHERE

ACROSTICS are done!

     This is the last Acrostic pseudo-poem, thank God. I'm not going to try this one in a long time.

Part of my life,

Each day filled with strife,

Relapses and more,

Medicines galore,

And now a wheelchair,

Needed everywhere,

Enables me to

Nimbly move through

This life with MS.

-Josh Evitt, 2019-

An Immoveable Object

An Irresistible Force

Debilitating relapses

Ignite my desire to

Stay hidden from a world which

Always reminds me of what I’ve lost.

But I refuse to keep myself cloistered,

Languidly wasting away in my wheelchair.

Each day greets me with greater challenges, yet

Despite my failures, I will keep living!

A Helping Hand

Admit It

Help is now needed for so many simple tasks,

And admitting weakness is never easy.

Nevertheless, my pride has been broken.

Deciding to accept this label, I did not fully understand

Its ‘other’ names and how with one tag on my mirror,

Crippled, weak, suffering, pitiful, among others, would cling.

As each day progresses, I am faced with

Problems that snowball into more disastrous

Problems, attempting to keep me in the house.

Each day brings a new set of challenges

Daring me not to live my life.

-Josh Evitt, 2019-

Clean Month! Move Down!

September's Here

With the arrival of a new moth also comes a new genre of poem. Each poem this month will have a very specific similarity. Can you find it?

Delving into a few bizarre events,
I sought out a doctor who could make sense
And give a name to this problem I fought,
Giving me hope that a cure could be sought.
Neurologists thought a nerve had been pinched,
Off to a surgeon, who at numbness flinched,
Suspecting a thing far more hideous.
Its name is now truly insidious.
Such is life with, "Multiple Sclerosis."

-Josh Evitt, 2019-

New Month, New Style

Blank Verse

Why would starting August with blank verse will be tough?

1. Lack of rhyme requires much more emphasis on meter. This not free verse.
2. It will rely heavily on imagery that is used properly.
3. It can easily turn into simple narrative jargon.

*NOTE* For the rest of the month I decided just to make one long poem. Here's the result.* 

MS transformed so much of what I am,

Regressing my life like an inverted

Caterpillar, seeking to hide once more

Within a safe cocoon, sheltered from life

With this rancid disease seeking solace,

Dodging interaction with all others,

Happy to waste away in solitude.

Things that once were easy have now become

Difficult at best, impossible at

Worst. Many things that I loved to do are

Gone, never to return, while others will

Never appear. Despite MS there have

Also been some benefits from the MesS.

From the Shepherd Center, to my facebook

Friends who struggle with this vile disease: MS.

I have received help from many people,

Joining me as I fight MS’ symptoms,

And I have so much to be thankful for:

From my dear family to all my friends.

They have stayed with me through the highs and lows.

Do I want my life to improve? Of course!

But there are things that will only degrade.

A pebble rolls down the side of a hill

With others it becomes an avalanche.

As symptoms rise and fall, I must remain

Determined to live my life with MS.

Changes are made to how I do most things,

From dressing to eating, bathing and more

I have learned that I can’t ignore MS.

Living my life with this disease I choose

Acceptance of this life, never hiding.

Each day with this disease is a struggle.
Often I face the fact that I will lose.
Crippled, broken, and weak, I hide away
From the world around me seeking solace
From my life with MS and its symptoms.
This misery does NOT love company.
Like a hermit, I choose to keep silent
As the stress of multiple sclerosis
Festers within my heart, wreaking havoc
On my moods, on my thoughts, sinking deeper
Into the crore of my very being.
Symptoms rise and abilities will fall
MS changes without warning, dragging
Me through the memories of what MS
Has taken from me, leaving me empty,
Like an empty balloon, going nowhere.
Walking, running, swimming, and soon driving
Are all things that are now mere memories.
My dream career: teaching in a classroom,
Sharing my love of words with my students,
Are now memories which I am losing.
But I have found some ways through which I can
Regain a small semblance of what I’ve lost.
Boring poems help me release some angst,
And research projects can give me a voice.
Surveys, meetings, discussion boards and more
Provide me with a chance to share and learn.

-Josh Evitt, 2019-