Saturday 27 February 2010

Catching the Poetry Bus early.

Sad to say that I am having severe back problems. I am going to give blogging a miss for a couple of days - I don't suppose it will make any difference but I have to try everything. My back is fine during the day (well, a bit achy but nothing I can't live with) and once I get to sleep it is fine overnight. But getting out of bed in the morning is a real problem and is at present taking me up to half an hour of severe pain (sacro-iliac inflammation I am told). If anyone out there has had a similar problem, I would like to hear any suggestions for getting rid of it.
However, in the meantime this week's poetry bus wants passengers to write about their version of how they see death and the after life.
In so far as I am anything, I suppose I am a humanist. So here is my (slightly tongue-in-cheek) contribution, two days early:-

A Fitting End.

When my time on earth is done
I'd like to be put out in the sun.

Lay me out on a mossy bank
where the crows can come, for I'll be frank

I don't believe in heaven or hell.
So when they toll my passing bell

let the crows eat me at their leisure -
for they have given me hours of pleasure.

When my bones are clean and white,
then you may bury them out of sight,

for people may not like to view
the bones of someone they once knew.

Have a pleasant week-end. Here there is weak sun shining - a lovely change from yesterday.

45 comments:

Dave King said...

So very sorry to hear about your back. Doreen suffers from back problems, so I know they are not trivial. Do hope the break from blogging works. Every blessing.

Reader Wil said...

Sorry to read that you have these back problems. I know other people who have the same complaint. During the day they can live with the pain and in bed they feel not so much pain either but getting up is a problem. My doctor says you have to move around and do some exercises, even if it hurts. Well I hope that you will soon recover and write a more cheerful poem, than the one in this post, which reminds me of the funeral traditions in one of the Asian countries,where the dead are laid on a mountain to be eaten by the birds.

Elisabeth said...

It's no good about your back problems, Weaver, but it seems it hasn't totally dampened your sense of humour.

I enjoy this poem. My sentiments too, about the business of death, of our bodies at least. Leave us to the birds, the earth and the worms.

Rachel Fox said...

I love the no-nonsense of this. Bring on the crows!
x

Arija said...

If it is an inflamation, get your doctor to prescribe three days of Voltaren, an anti-inflammatory that should fix the problem and take strong pain likers to make it bearably. I hate taking drugs and only do it if absolutely necessary. In this case a few days of drugs against prolonged pain, seems worthwhile.
Whatever you do, get well soon!!!

Susie Hemingway said...

Wishing you well very soon with your poorly back. I loved the poem kind of jaunty if I may say that.

Eryl said...

Really sorry to hear about your back. Half an hour of extreme pain just to get out of bed isn't on, I would be badgering my doctor for drugs. I find anti-inflammatories do wonders for my arthritis in a very short time.

Your poem resonates.

Pondside said...

Oh Weaver, big sympathy from one who has been laid up this week as well. I find that keeping active helps, and all the advice about anti-inflamatories is good. Each day I get down onto the floor about an hour after rising. I lie on my back and clench my buttocks, holding for 10 seconds. Then one at a time I raise each leg, bent at the knee, just until my lower let is parallel to the floor, keeping the knee bent. Ten times for each leg. These are a couple of little exercises given to me years ago and they work when I do them. Good luck!

Golden West said...

Celebrex works wonders for back pain, but it takes 2-3 days to kick in and you must follow the course for 7-10 days. Wishing you the best.

Karen said...

I love this view - tongue in cheek (skull?) or no! I wrote something similar called "Ashes and Bone".

About your back: try sleeping with a pillow under you knees. It forces the back down straight. I hope you get some relief.

Heather said...

So sorry to hear you are in such pain and discomfort - hope you get some relief from it soon. Do you know a good chiropractor? We shall miss you, but will be thinking of you. I think your poem is perfect - it's not an easy subject to cope with but you have dealt with it so well.

Robin Mac said...

Sorry about your back. I agree with Heather, find yourself a good chiropractor. I take voltaren all the time and visit my chiropractor frequently to be able to keep moving. He has also been able to suggest exercises which will help. I had to laugh at your poem, thogh I still think I would rather be burnt, then they can do what they like with the ashes. Cheers, Robin

Lyn said...

Old fashioned solution..for stiffness in the morn, I tuck a heating pad between me and bed, at offending spot, 5/10 min...sort of helps. I'm a Reiki healer,..works for me!!
Newish here..Poetry Bus..how, what?
Feel better, and keep moving..

Crafty Green Poet said...

sorry about your back, hope it feels better soon

Sandy said...

I know how you feel because my lower back will spasm every once in awhile and then it becomes so sore and hard for me to get around. I take motrin and use the heating pad. If my back feels like it is going to spasm I take the motrin as soon as possible and sit in a chair that gives me good support. Lying down in bed can make it worst so I try to give it good support then too. Good luck and hope you are feeling better soon.

Teacup Lane (Sandy)

Kat Mortensen said...

I like the matter-of-factness about the poem and the giving back to the natural world. A really nice idea.

I sometimes use a glucosamine-chondroiting gel for chronic shoulder pain. Celadrin cream is also very helpful. You might find they at least offer temporary relief.

I hope it improves soon.

Kat

Anonymous said...

Sorry about your back Weaver. Back pain is such an individual thing I know, but having just been rid of it now after 26 years of chronic sacro illiac pain every day of my life, I am now finally completely pain free.I tried chiropractors(works for a short while), swam every day for a year(worked well),exercise,rest, Pilates,heatcreams and heat lamps pads and cushions,- you name it, and while these have worked for others who have left very helpful comments here, I tried all, while continuing child-rearing and full-time work on anti-inflammatories most of the time, virtually becoming resigned to my fate. The solution? Now in my mid-fifties,a bone density reading showed alarmingly low results for my age. When my doctor suggested Vitamin D tests I laughed, being an olive-skinned sun-loving Aussie. Again, chronically low reading.Post menopausal, the doctor suggested putting me on HRT, (Zumenon and Duphaston) something I was strongly against with a strong family history of breast cancer, but she said there was not much of a choice with such a bad bone density reading. To tell you the honest truth, if I had to have a breast/breasts removed, so be it. It is worth it to be completely pain free for the first time in thirty years and feeling so alive and good!Pain drags you down. These days I cannot believe the difference!!I also take a Vitamin D and calcium combined supplement that the doctor recommended.Ostelin, no prescription needed for that.I am still at a loss to know how this affects sacro-iliac issues, but guess lack of D causes bone-related rickets in children, and the back is complex with joints, bones and ligaments. Such a long-winded answer I know, but if I thought it could help in any way, I would be pleased to have perhaps opened up an avenue of investigation for you.It may be a false lead in your case, but you never know.Please consider these tests if you have not already had them.Take care.x

Anonymous said...

excellent, book me a spot alongside.
thanks for sharing
crazy field mouse

Anonymous said...

Wishing you better days Pat. A lavender heat pack offers some relief, but not a cure.

Acornmoon said...

Weaver, that is a brilliant poem!
it brought a little tear to my eye.

Sorry to hear about your back. I bought my mum some rose-hip tablets from the health food shop when she had arthritic pain. It is a natural anti-inflammatory and might be worth a try.

A friend of mine has a chronic back problem and swears by swimming.

Get well soon x

Dartford Warbler said...

I`m with you on the sentiments in your poem!

Sympathies with your back problem. I have a long standing problem with neck discs and when it is bad, it is BAD!

I wish I could send you our lovely physio friend. She has worked wonders for me and for several friends, with acupuncture combined with a careful programme of exercises.

MarmaladeRose said...

Enjoyed the poem. It made me smile, I'm not sure it was meant to.
Hope the back is soon better, I suffer with back problems too and often suffle around like Mrs Overall from Acorn Antiques!

Niamh B said...

That's a lovely poem, frank, warm and true.

The Solitary Walker said...

Hope things improve soon, Pat, with your back. You have lots of friends supporting you and feeling for you here, I know.

Dr. Jeanne Iris said...

Hi Weaver, I hope this finds you feeling a bit better. Yes, the vitamins and some mild yoga exercises should build strength in your back.
About the poem... Crows, gotta love 'em! I speak with them through my mind, and their responses return to me through numerical cawing. Fascinating take on the death of our flesh. Take care!

Hildred said...

Dear Weaver, - my condolences to your bad back, - I hope that it will soon be feeling more cheerful and not in the mood to annoy you and give you pain. They seem to come and go, - bad backs, - and I guess the secret is to manage the inflammation that causes them.


I will surely miss your blogs and for very selfish reason as well as sympathetic ones I hope you will soon feel better.

Totalfeckineejit said...

Interesting poem. Get well soon Weaver old pal.

Argent said...

I love playful poems like this! I wionder if anyone does sky burials here in britain.

Anonymous said...

Rotten about the back, Pat. I hope that some of the suggested treatments here might provide some relief.

That neat little humanist request poem puts me very much in mind of the wonderful Harry Graham, whose gallows verse was so popular in the '20s and '30s.

* said...

Well done! The bit about the crows is lovely.

PS: Hope your back gets well soon. My husband had back pain when we first got married (he'd been hit from behind while riding a motorcycle). It took him a long time to heal. Rest up & get well soon.

mrsnesbitt said...

Take care hun. A break from sitting in one position for a long time is good for us all! Infact I am going to get up now and take Freida round the village as we deliver the church magazines.

Batteson.Ind said...

I REALLY enjoyed this!.. I've always had a secret admiration for those ancient zoroastrians, the ones who fed their dead to the vultures. I like this idea, it makes sense to me to be given the chance to take our part in the great wheel of things... and I loved the easy matter of fact pace of this poem too, seriously nice!

Batteson.Ind said...

p.s: hope the back gets better soon!.. there is nothing worse!
goos thoughts!

Pure Fiction said...

Sorry about your back.

This is a great poem - Like Reader Wil, it reminds me of a tradition (I think it's in Tibet?) where the dead are brought up to a mountainside and left there 'as a gift for the birds.'

NanU said...

Right on, Weaver. Let the crows have their day. They gave me much amusement this weekend as I walked around admiring their newly reinhabited condos in the taller trees.
I hope your back gets better quickly!

Jinksy said...

Wonderful poem - bummer of a back! Hope some of the various remedies suggested work for you.xxx

Emerging Writer said...

Sorry about your back. Hope you're on the mend.

But you'd choose crows? Poor worms.

Unknown said...

Hello Weaver,

I've enjoyed reading through your last few posts. Pity that the snow and rain have been able to maintain their grip for so long. The piece about your childhood village is no doubt a little rose tinted, as I'm sure most such memories are, but no less real for the child. I'm sure your grandchildren will enjoy and value reading it one day. Finally, I really like your poems for the last two poetry bus challenges. Giving the crows a picnic may seem a bit gruesome but I'm sure it's just that 'slender girl' being mischievous!

Peter Goulding said...

Hi Weaver,
The bones would be pretty good for playing the drums with.
Waste not, want not

Titus said...

Hi Weaver, first I do hope you're starting to feel a little better now, and as so many people have offered advice I'll skip mine as it would be mostly repetitive!

Joyous poem on the stark reality of a dead body. I like the wheel of life-ness about it, and some light relief (poetic) is never wrong. Enjoyed reading this a lot.

Get Well Soon, and hopefully as we had more than a glimmer of sunshine today you'll be getting some more too. Although bizarrely, it's just started snowing here...

Dominic Rivron said...

This is what Zoroastrians do, I think, however you spell them. The leave their corpses on top of "towers of silence".

BT said...

That poem really made me laugh Pat. As for the back pain, that is no laughing matter. Both Jim and I have at various times suffered with back pain. He usually rubs my back with ibuprofin gel and that works a treat.

ArtPropelled said...

I had a good chuckle reading your poem Weaver.

So sorry about your back. I do an exercise every morning sitting on the bed with feet on the floor. Lift one leg up, bent at the knee and rest ankle on the opposite knee. Gently push down the knee of the raised leg and hold to the count of 15. Switch sides and repeat about 3 times each side. My wood carving plays havoc with my back and this exercise works wonders.

Babette Fraser Hale said...

a wonderful poem!

Nishant said...

the one in this post, which reminds me of the funeral traditions in one of the Asian countries,where the dead are laid on a mountain to be eaten by the birds.
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