Stuck with ME

Let me tell you a little bit about ME
I am a monstrous intruder
I am your worst nightmare
You do not want an invasion from ME
I break in through the tiniest cracks anyway
There is no avoiding ME
I creep in when you least expect ME
I am a perpetual thief
Just when you’re living your best life, I steal that away from you
There is no escaping ME
I am a ferocious captor
I torture you day and night out of nowhere
I invade your body and your mind like you wouldn’t believe
In fact, nobody will believe anything about ME
That’s because I’m invisible
I have invisible weapons
I leave behind no evidence
It’s the perfect crime!
I whack you with my invisible baseball bats
I stab you with my invisible knives
I poke you with my invisible needles
I burn you with my invisible flames
I zap you with my invisible tasers
I weigh you down with my invisible concrete
I squeeze your head with my invisible vice
Your head will be under extreme pressure
It will feel like it’s going to explode
It will be spinning all day long
In a constant fog
You won’t be able to think straight
I am a ruthless master manipulator
Try to get help
Go ahead and try
You won’t be taken seriously
My invisible tools leave no visible bruises, wounds and scars
There’s no proof
It doesn’t matter anyway
Nobody and nothing can destroy ME
Try to escape ME by sleeping
Go ahead and try
I won’t let you sleep
I will torture you all night long
If you’re lucky enough to get some sleep, you will still wake up exhausted
Try to fight ME with very little energy that you have
Go ahead and try
You won’t be able to
I snatched your energy from you
Your arms and legs will feel like heavy led
Try to break free from ME by running away
Go ahead and try
You won’t make it very far
I ripped away your endurance

This poem was submitted as part of the Reflections of ME/CFS, FM, and Long COVID Awareness Day Virtual Event on May 14th, 2024.