Notes from a Rare Disease
By Peter Devonald
We learn our illness well
(sugar and spice and all things nice)
study leaflets, papers and posts
(acid tongue like poppies in bloom)
pore over doctors’ letters and join obscure dots
(jargon verbiage recline with a pocket full of snake oil)
decline the world and the world yawns
(into the silent woods go I)
we’re losing ourselves in a train going nowhere
(silence of doctors, friends and family)
notice sunsets and night as we disappear in the dark
(find hidden depths, our heart beats beautiful still)
discover anti-inflammatory diets and meditation
(hope sparks a memory of past lives).
Peter Devonald
Peter Devonald is a multi-award-winning poet/ screenwriter, published in hundreds of journals including six Broken Spine anthologies, Broken Sleep, Abridged, Alchemy Spoon, IS&T, Seventh Quarry, Full House, Shine and The Spectator. Winner Broken Spine Readers’ Choice Award 2025, Loft Books Best Poem 2025, two Heart Of Heatons and Waltham Forest. Runner-up Shelley Memorial and N2tS. Finalist Tickled Pink, commended Poetry Café, Bermondsey&Beyond, Hippocrates, Passionfruit Review, Saveas & Allingham. 50+ film awards, former senior judge/ mentor Peter Ustinov Awards (iemmys), poet-in-Residence Haus-a-Rest, editor The Post newspapers Poetry Corner and judge Whispering Wisdom. Forward Prize, Pushcart Prize, twice Best-Of-Net and Children’s Bafta nominee.
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Photo credit: Joshua Zhang
Apricot Press 