DIARRHOEA.
Do not expect an epopoeia (epic poem)
to emerge from diarrhoea,
for though I’ll try to do my best
this one will put me to the test.
This is a difficult concept,
which I think we must just accept
is not the nicest in the land
for anyone to understand.
Sometimes called the Delhi-belly
it can be both vile and smelly,
then again, it’s called the squits,
but most of us just call it shits.
We may call it what we choose
but when the faeces start to ooze
or spurt like water from a hose
what’s it matter, what words you chose?
With diarrhoea it is the norm
for shit to pass in liquid form,
sometimes accompanied by sick
which often is catastrophic.
For many people, it’s the pits
when diarrhoea gives them the shits
because their bodies are designed
without the diarrhoea in mind.
Unfortunately, they have found
their anus points towards the ground
and they have no control on shit
let alone on catching it.
But with my stoma, I don’t care,
as my bag will be hanging there
to catch whatever’s coming out
for that’s what stomas are about.
I shit no longer from my bum
but catch it all out of my tum.
B. Withers 2019
