free verse (audio) poem

if you are lucky — blessed — you have
someone monitoring your health
as best as they can.
if you’re falling off in any way,
they’re there to pick you back up
and remind you, “There’s still
living to do.”
I now know the importance of
keeping my eyes shielded for
as long as I can.
wearing scleral contacts for at least
ten hours per day has helped my
left eye, however, my right
eye is progressing.
according to my optometrist, I’m
still in a range she thinks is “gradual”
and nothing to be concerned about
surgically, just yet.
she agrees with me that we
should allow the additional six months
and reassess in November to see
where I stand.
will my sight
continue to betray me or
will it slow its pace in progression
and stave off surgical procedures
for a few years or more?
I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
she also broke down Corneal Collagen Cross-linking
to me in a way that didn’t terrify me or
cause me to fear attending anymore
ophthalmology follow-up appointments.
she smiled gingerly and said, “I hate to say
this, but most surgeons are trained to give
you the worst-case scenario, and then I
have to . . . clean up the mess.”
I listened to her as each step was
explained, reiterated, and filtered to
my understanding, and I breathed a
sigh of relief.
if this procedure is needed by the end
of the year or later, I feel less worried
about the possibility of having it performed.
when one’s vision is steadily running
in the opposite direction of
the sighted, what does one do?
hope. pray. follow all necessary
precautions. pray some more.
purchase all the expensive items
necessary for the care and maintenance
of the $3,500.00 each, priced lenses.
Can’t let these go to waste, right?
and as I continue to lose my sight in
one eye, it is strengthening in the other.
what can this mean?
what does this mean?
is there even any meaning to it?
my optometrist is happy with
my vision as it stands currently.
I could see what I needed to see
and people, places, and things
are still sharper in my
line of sight.
it’s a small thing but a big thing, too.
I only wish you knew how much.
Originally published in A Cornered Gurl via Medium.
Great job Tre!
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🙏🏾💙
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Wait and see with the emphasis on see.
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👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾 Exactly!
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trE! This is so much more than a poem. Wow. You have many gifts. You are a gift. Thank you for sharing your story with us. 💗
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🙏🏾💙 Thank you for being around here for it, Michele! I appreciate your presence here.
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🙏🏻🤗
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Praying that your eyes stay good and that soon you can stop worrying and stop spending money to make it all right. 🙏🙏
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🙏🏾💙 Peace, Kim. I appreciate that, truly.
I can pray for stability and no further progression. And that’s what I’d love most! Happy Sunday!
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I like listening to your poetry. Reminds me of someone I once listened to on an audiobook. Might have been Toni Morrison, I can’t remember right now, but I like the flow of your voice…calming and peaceful. ☺️
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Aww. Thank you very much, Kim. Lol. I’ve plenty of people tell me my voice is soothing/peaceful, and that can be lulled to sleep by it.
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The sum of you. Beautiful and strong.
…and remind you, “There’s still living to do.”
trE, my dear. Don’t forget to talk to your right eye to remind eye of same. There’s still lots to see/ lots of living to do.
And I’m so happy to know your medical team is that lovely. Makes the uncertainty of the journey less daunting. I bless you. Sending positive vibes. Thing good thoughts. Bless you. Xoxo
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Peace, Selma. Thank you kindly.
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Exceptional poetry, trE, and thank you for sharing – I really appreciate the opportunity to get to know you 🙂
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Peace and blessings, David. Thank you kindly for reading. I’m glad you’re here!
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Oh wow, a good optometrist is like finding gold.
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And she specializes in corneal diseases, so she and my ophthalmologist tag-team my eye care.
I’m just glad I sought her opinion, too. Who knows what November will bring, but I feel a lot better about everything now. 🙏🏾💙
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I can only imagine the uncertainty and concern you have been experiencing trE. I’m glad that things are progressing well and that you have such a sympathetic and supportive optometrist.
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Well, the right eye is doing worse. “Progressing” in this form isn’t a positive thing.
But, I’m happy my left eye is getting better. I can only hope my right eye regresses a little or stays the same and doesn’t get any worse. 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾
I’m hopeful and prayerful about it, Peter. Thank you so much!
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❤
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🙏🏾💙
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