Different

Different

I wonder if they know
About me, that is.
I've got this problem.
You can't really tell.
Not until it gets worse.
That's when it shows.
If they knew, I wonder
Would they treat me
Like someone different?

They know me as I am now.
But would their attitude change
If they knew of my condition?
Would they go out of their way
To do things for me?
Or would they feel awkward
Being around me?
Maybe they wouldn't know
What to do at all.
Perhaps they would just
Carry on
As if nothing had changed.
As if I was normal.

But aren't I normal?
Just because of this thing,
Does that make me different?
Abnormal perhaps.
Some cannot handle it.
Some can.
Some are trained.
Some are scared
Of me and my condition.
They don't want
To be near me.
They don't want
To catch it.
I tell them they won't
Catch it, I mean.
It's not like a flu virus
Or a tummy bug.
You can't catch it
Just by breathing
In the same air as me.
Some are repulsed.
They see me as an outcast.

Have you ever
Been to a party
Where people whisper
About you and giggle
Nervously, because
They don't know how to react?

They can't catch it,
Yet they clear a path for me.
Give me room.

You can't catch it
Just by talking to me.

Some people can't tell
Not until it's worse.

Then you need help.
Professional, medical help.

I wonder why
People are so afraid.

I'm the one
Who's going to die
In the end.

Not them. Not you.

I'm still me. I'm still a human being.
Don't shut me out
Just because
I'm different.