In another life by Shannon Almond

A large tree in the middle of green woodland. Large white text reads: In Another Life. Smaller text reads: Discussing disabled characters in fairy tales and folklore.

In another life,
I’d be the one the other side of the curtain.
Blue scrubs, badge clipped on,
Strong enough to lift someone out of pain,
Instead of drowning in it myself.
 
Maybe id be a nurse. Or a paramedic
Shouting over sirens with adrenaline in my chest
Or a doctor, calm and clever,
The kind that makes people feel safe,
The one that makes a difference
 
Not this.
Not 24 and shattered,
Living like I’m 84,
Every joint and nerve staging a protest i never signed up for
 
I’d be working shifts, not managing symptoms
Filling out charts, not pip forms,
I’d be saving lives, not just trying to keep mine bearable.
 
And maybe, just maybe
I’d make my parents proud in the way i always imagined,
Not for being strong though the pain,
But for becoming someone that i always dreamed of being,
For being something that mattered,
Not just surviving something i never asked for.
 
And id be proud too,
Not just for coping,
Not for just getting through the day,
But for being someone,
Doing something,
making a real difference
 
In that life id have a purpose,
Not just prescriptions,
And a body that carries me,
Instead of one i have to carry,
 
In another life…
I would have made an amazing nurse,
I would’ve changed lives,
I would’ve made the difference in the world I always wanted to
 
In another life…
I would be really living, not just surviving each day.