Spare Me

Spare Me

Please---no more. No more asking:

Are you drinking enough water?

Are you stressed out?

Are you resting enough?

For the ache to go, I'd sleep all day waking only to hydrate.

Please---no more criticisms:

You're high-strung no wonder you have a headache

You were a spoiled child

Hmm, you ARE anal  

You only want attention

For the ache to go, I'd cloister and isolate into zen.

Please---no more prescriptions:

You should do yoga

You should eat organic

You should align your chakras

You should find God

You should exercise more--or not so much

For the ache to go, I'd gulp every 'should,' camp in church, meditate to stupor.

Please---no more armchair psychotherapy:

Think positive

Identify your self-defeating beliefs

Are you mad at your mother?

"Were you abused as a child?" 

For the ache to go, I'd lavish love to Self and more.

Please---to all you doctors:

Don't look at me, your eyes loaded ammunition suspicion

In the ER, don't deem me drug-seeking

In your office, give me more than six minutes 

Dare not assess my 'perfectionism': don't ask about my bowels

In your notes, don't write neurotic

Bite your tongue and forget telling me to take vacation

Dare to be clinician stellar nay extra-ordinary

Do it for yourself, do it for us

Educate your Self.

Please---no more "help"

I've heard it all--

What's more--done it all

Can do little more

Except live, and live some more--

Day by day pregnant with pain.

Nothing easy about it

Please---understand I'm ill-at-ease

Only because I have a dis-ease

In my brain and not my heart

My brain hurts because of my genes

My heart hurts because you blame me

Please---spare me.