After They Cure PD : Poetry by Jim Sheridan

Snarky Parky & me

A Journey Into Parkinson's with Nancy Mellon

Coordinated by Corrine Bayraktaroglu

Guest Post by Jim Sheridan

After They Cure PD

“So many of us can't even convey to our loved ones the frustration we face in our daily living.”

Two Poems by Jim Sheridan

PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND OUR VOICE

I try and I try and I continue to try

Why O Lord why?

Parkinson's Disease is not easy to live with

Anyone telling you differentnt is telling a myth

These days I have more to say then in the past

But the joke's on me, Parkinson's makes me talk very fast

Not only that, it sounds like I've got a mouthful of marbles

I'm a miracle of marvels

Words come out at an exhillerating speed

Only not to be heard or understood

I speak to you, my Parkinson's plead

Be patient, listen if you would

I'm still me in here, although I may wear a mask

You see, it's another joke on me, a Parkinson's  joke

We are given an unusual, a difficult task

The mask we wear looks as though we don't care

Our face doesn't show expression, it's kinda broke

So talk with a Parkinson's victim if you dare

It'll be frustrating, It'll be grating

It'll drive you crazy trying to understand

Every other word you misunderstand

Like I said,

Parkinson's is not easy for me or for you

JIM SHERIDAN

A TIME WITHOUT PD

I see a vision of a future that is free of Parkinson's

A disease that is void of rich or poor incomes

Where people are no longer embarrassed to sign greeting cards

Disregard our fellow man made to feel separate, made to live guarded

Where having  a shaky hand or a frozen face mask

Where attempting the most mundane of simplest tasks

Is met with failure and frustration

The day will soon arrive when dopamine is our salvation

The day is not faraway

That everyday is a good day

Those who live with this disease understand

That some days, that damn hand

No matter what you try

No matter which medicines you buy

That damn hand has a mind of it's own

You push all the wrong buttons on the phone

The more you try to make it stop

You are that much closer to blowing your top

Feeling worthless, feeling useless

All of that will be excuseless

In the days after they cure PD

In the days after they cure PD

Boy they'll be some earth-quackin'.shakin' goin' on

They'll be rockin' and a-rollin'

Hell, even grandma will go bowlin'

After they cure Parkinson's

Jim Sheridan

2023