Why write poetry about M.E.?

Bonjour, 

I know poetry is not everyone`s cup of tea but I have found it to be a good way to express how I and others feel about living with this dreadful illness. I hope that I am a voice for others who find it difficult to express how they feel. 

I believe that it`s a simple but effective method to say directly and succinctly what it`s like to live with M.E. and that it`s a simple and easy way to help others to understand this illness. 

My poems are a window on a life with M.E., how it affects and changes lives, the suffering with so many symptoms, the lack of understanding, the emotions and experiences that so many have in common.

Many people find it difficult to explain what it`s like to live with M.E. 
Usually it`s only others who suffer the same who can understand and empathise.
Through my poems I want to increase the level of understanding and to help others to feel less alone with this illness. 

I have been writing poems for many years and it`s only more recently that I  have started to focus more on M.E. Writing poems has helped me to cope with this very difficult illness. I have found it has helped me to write it down and put into words how I feel. At times it has been a painful and emotional process - especially when I`ve read back the poems to myself. I guess seeing it in black and white hits home and the reality of my life since becoming ill.

Maybe you will have the same reaction when you read my poems. Maybe you will have gone through the same experiences, felt the same emotions and faced the same problems. Maybe you will feel a sense of relief, that you are not going crazy and above all that they are not alone. If that is the case then all my efforts will have been worth while. 

If you have been diagnosed with M.E., or even another invisible illness, I hope you will be able to identify with my poems. I want you to know that you are not alone.

If you don`t have M.E. I hope that my poems help you to understand this difficult and complex illness.

I hope that it will help you to gain some small insight to what it`s like to live with M.E.

This is the first poem I wrote about ME and formed the basis of my book of poems about M.E.

 

The book is called `My A-Z of M.E.` (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) written by me, Ros Lemarchand. It's available on Amazon in many countries throughout the world in paperback and kindle editions. 

Here is the link to my Author's Page on Amazon UK 

A percentage of sales always go to Invest in M.E. Research. 

This book was the first of many to follow....

 

Au revoir!

From the French femme

xxx