my tooth hurts.

 Written as I lay in agony on Valentine's Day recovering from another medical emergency: this time it was dental surgery to remove my impacted wisdom teeth. Unbeknownst to me, the road to recovery would be difficult; my wound got infected and I ended up in more pain than I was before the surgery. Eventually I persevered as I always do. Later that year I got a chronic migraine that lasted three months, 103 days. Not to mention my iron deficiency anemia, hypothyroidism, and, of course, bipolar depression, three diseases that make my life a struggle every day. It's hard to get out of bed most days. And even through this pain, I got straight A's my last two semesters at MDC, and am starting at FIU in the fall for my bachelor's degree. Life goes on, even through the pain.

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I woke up in pain today.

it’s been my reality for a while now

before i feel the sun in my eyes 

I feel my body aching

it’s one thing after another

emergency visits and meds and being diagnosed

with things over and over and over 

it’s too much–and yet in some ways i’m lucky

I can even go to doctors and take meds

doctors are a luxury now

but it doesn’t feel that way

it feels exhausting and miserable.

I wish my body acted as it should and

I wish for a day of peace. but until then-

I wake up in pain tomorrow.