<\/p>\n
Unzipping my case,<\/p>\n
I fumble for my meter.<\/p>\n
Staring solemnly<\/p>\n
at the series of small callouses<\/p>\n
gracing every digit on my left my hand,<\/p>\n
it dawns on me:<\/p>\n
my life IS diabetes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Too many times each day,<\/p>\n
I poke myself,<\/p>\n
seeking the level of glucose<\/p>\n
flowing through my veins.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Each test leaves behind a scar,<\/p>\n
so tiny the naked eye might miss it,<\/p>\n
yet so bold it feels like Braille<\/p>\n
beneath a blind man’s fingers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If my sugar runs high,<\/p>\n
I must inject myself with insulin,<\/p>\n
restoring the natural order of things.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Should my levels be low,<\/p>\n
I must feed my face,<\/p>\n
building blocks like protein to<\/p>\n
preserve my strength.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I constantly check my ’emotional glucose’ meter too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Through pricks and barbs who poke and prod,<\/p>\n
I discover where my sweetness levels fall.<\/p>\n
Every puncture point leaves its mark<\/p>\n
in my memories,<\/p>\n
its scars upon my heart.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If I’ve been too kind and caring,<\/p>\n
left myself wide open and vulnerable,<\/p>\n
it’s time to serve up a shot of cynicism,<\/p>\n
and remember<\/p>\n
that the world doesn’t love<\/p>\n
the same way that I do.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If I’ve lost my sweet edge<\/p>\n
and ventured to the sour side,<\/p>\n
I must feast on love and laughter,<\/p>\n
and the follies of furry four-footed friends<\/p>\n
until all is right with the world once more.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Should I choose not to check<\/p>\n
and let ignorance be bliss,<\/p>\n
I know I’ll not survive.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Diabetes or Life?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Either way,<\/p>\n you prick me and I bleed<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Life and Diabetes Unzipping my case, I fumble for my meter. Staring solemnly at the series of small callouses gracing every digit on my left my hand, it dawns on me: my life IS diabetes. Too many times each day, I poke…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1212,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,13],"tags":[3208,3209,3207,23],"class_list":["post-54718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marathon-poem","category-miscellaneous","tag-analogy","tag-comparison","tag-diabetes","tag-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1212"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54718"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55347,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54718\/revisions\/55347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepoetrymarathon.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}