People often times
Cannot see past the ends of
Their own noses
Age doesn't dictate
Whether someone is healthy

This week on my dive boat
The 70 year old owner
Of the entire fleet
Is here, guiding everyone

I had an interesting exchange with him
As he laid on a couch, instead of diving
He was tired, was the answer I got
Then he added, almost under his breath

"I'm quite a bit older than you."

I let it go but I was tempted
To give him the 411 on his
Incorrect perception

That at 70, he's at least 7 times
Healthier than me
He doesn't have
A chronic, invisible illness
That's a life sentence

He has spent his entire life
Living his dreams which brought him
Fame and fortune

He doesn't know
Our struggle
Without treatment
Without funding
Without a cure

I bet if I asked him if he'd ever heard of
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)
He'd look at me like I had 3 heads

Just because, I'm 35
Doesn't mean I'm healthy
That shit is easy
Being here during my PTSD month
Is a massive step

He doesn't know
That ME nearly took my life
On July 31, 2015
That I was completely bedridden for
2 years due to the kind of exhaustion and
Hellish symptoms that
17 million people in the world can understand

He, like others here
Haven't a clue of how self-conscious
I am because when I jumble words
It's because of the
constant, inescapable, and irreversible
Brain fog and damage
Sustained by this disease

Am I asking for pity?
Absolutely not!
But saying that you're tired because of age
While I'm younger so henceforth
Should be full of energy is an
Incorrect perception

I am blessed
To do things
Like walking, eating, brushing my teeth
Taking a shower by myself
All the things that people take for granted

Less than a month
Till my 4 year Rebirthday
I'm alive
Which is a lot more
Than I can say for this month in 2015

Always important to
Remember that age
Doesn't really matter
And to not judge
Thinking you know all

Do not just complicate
Always remember to educate.