This poem is dedicated to Anne Newton from Medtronic and Kelley Crumpler from Brazos Valley Endocrinology.

Old Dogs and New Tricks
by Mary Jo Powell

Know that old saying 'bout "new tricks" and "old dogs"?
I'm now out to prove that it should give one pause.
After 50-plus years of syringes and vials,
With good days and bad nights and plenty of trials,
I've entered a new world of sensors and pumps
And am finding it's giving me plenty of lumps.
It's like learning to do this all over again
And struggling to make all this "stuff" a new friend.
I;m now dealing with decimals instead of just ones,
Finding what I don't know is measured in tons.
But learning new things is a challenge in life
And one that can cause you a great deal of strife.
But thank God for nice people who're willing to help,
Like Anne from Medtronic and Kelley herself.
And there's doctors and bloggers and other friends too
All anxious to help me learn just what to do.
So I head on, determined, in this new exploit,
Hoping that soon I'll become more adroit.
For I know that others have done this same thing
And that soon I will grasp that elusive brass ring
Then control my condition, not let it rule me,
And then show what I've learned so that others can see.
All to prove that "new tricks" can be learned by "old dogs,"
And facing new challenges need not give one pause.

A Letter to the Pain in My Side
by Elizabeth Strait

Hello again,
To my familiar little prick,
My inconvenient lifeline;
At least you’re tiny, sharp, and quick.
Though the pain just lasts a second,
You stick to me somehow;
A tiny little burden
I’ll have to cope with now.
You pop up under T-shirts,
Protruding from my side;
A tiny little bump
I try my best to hide.
But you’re just the cuff
To my ball and chain.
Now to that Ball;
Hiding YOU is a pain!
You’re heavy, big, and fat,
You’ve hooked yourself on me,
A necessary bother
But I sometimes want set free.
Where am I supposed to put you
Say, if I’m in a dress?
Though I can solve that problem,
It’s not something that I’ll confess.
And when I’ve got you hidden
Is just when I need you out;
Now that’s a public scene
I’d rather do without...
You two are bothersome enough,
But before I say adieu,
I’ll give credit to the chain
As you cause trouble too.
Getting caught, getting tangled;
You’re just as bad as they!
Too bad I need the insulin
That you pump my way...

Dessert Police (a diabetes haiku)
by Hannah McDonald

I say, "Let's eat cake!"
You say, "Are you kidding me?!"
Damn diabetes.

Misunderstood
Self-affliction
Diet
NO!

Misunderstood
Common affliction
Everyone deals well
NO!

Misunderstood
You can eat this
You can do that
NO!

Misunderstood
You're a complainer
You use it as an excuse
NO!

No!
I don't want Diabetes
I don't want to be!
Misunderstood

~Peggy Hall

Diabetes Dump
By: Kelley Crumpler

Sometimes, Diabetes is the dumps
When you inject too much insulin, sometimes you get lumps.

Sugars running low, you know I got my juice boxes in tow.

Sometimes I get a little sad, when my blood sugars are bad.
But then I take a corection shot, because that's what I was taught.

My insulin pump gives me life,
lets hope these new pump sites don't give me any strife.

My CDE is the bomb, I think I'll ask her to prom.
My Endo, though, he's a dork,
He looked at my A1c and said "Time to lay down the fork!".

I'm happy that I can manage my disease,
Just don't ask if I can eat "that", please!!

I blog @ SugarsTheBNotMe.blogspot.com
Twitter @NurseCrumpler

I am only Eight…. Thru the eyes of a child
By: Juan Carlos Vazquez
786 my life changed…..
786 I thought I was going to die…..
I am only eight…
I want to play
I want to build things
I want to be a regular boy
I am only eight…
Get up in the morning...check my sugar..What are my readings ... Did I log my readings?
Every time I put food in my mouth, did I check my sugar?
Every day I check my sugar
If it is high…check for ketones…then drink lots of water
I feel like a fish.
I am only eight
I want candy
I want chocolate milk
If I sneak it I will get sick
I am only eight
Life’s not fair
Why, I ask, why me?
Mom teaches me how to check my sugar, give myself injections, and change my pump.
I am only eight.
Who cares?
Will there be cure?
Should I worry?
I am only eight.
I care
I will find a cure.
Now I am twelve
I check my sugar
I eat right and exercise
I play
I have friends who like me for who I am.

God's Heavy Hand
For Captain Roger Finley and all EMT people everywhere; thanks for the help.

My yellow car, my friends and theirs
Lined in front of the fence.
We're going for a ride.

God's heavy hand
Falling, grasping;
I know this place.

My yellow car, my friends in theirs
Lined in front of the fence,
Waiting for a ride.

Surface for air
breathe, relax;
Gods heavy hand, pulling.

My friends
Lined in front of the fence,
Watching me.

Thrashing, screaming, sinking,
God's heavy hand
drags me down.

Where's my car?
Where's my friends?
Where's my fence?

I know this place.
God's heavy hand
Ragdolls me.

I'm not going
Not down there
Where's my car?

God's heavy hand
Shaking me,
Squeezing me.

Eat this;
They're on their way.
Hang on!

God's heavy hand
lifting me up.
Not yet, not this time!

I'm shaky and cold.
My bed is wet.
Hello Roger.

Our Angel
By Loretta McGee
Grandmother to M

Our angel came to us in August '05
This bundle, this treasure, this beautiful granddaughter
For 27 months feisty and feistier
So "normal" a blessing...then
Dx day...what the heck is that?
Oh! The beginning of the "new normal"
Well, this is no fun. New normal is worse than ...I don't know, anything.
Over four years at times
Her wings sag low
Immediate action or they'll not rise
Over four years at times
Her wings spike too high
Immediate action or she'll never fly
Over four years at times
Just right!
Finally!! No action...wow, this is so normal
Then, one day later too high, too low, too perfect
The "New Normal" slithers back and
There go the wings of our little angel.
Elusive, but not so much....
we'll soon be perfect again....
For awhile

By Faith
Lara Whitley
By faith I know I'll make it
No matter what comes my way
By faith I know I'll make it
Living day by day.

Diabetes is just one hurdle
That came into my life
Sometimes bringing joyous opportunities,
Sometimes bringing strife.

Day by day it changes
What once worked may stop
But by faith and preservation
I can come out on top.

No matter what they say
No matter what they think
I will keep pushing forward
Not stopping to rethink.

Sometimes feeling like I'm drowning
In all the worry and fear.
Helped by people who care,
Somehow makes it clear.

Sometimes it's hard
Almost never easy,
But "I can do all things
Through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Sweet Acceptance
By: Tammie Roundtree

It entered my body without my knowledge
making me naturally sweet
Coursing through my veins intensive thirst and pangs of constant urination upsetting my normal balance
Now I journey through this challenge
Redefinding my life style and what life means to me
Pricking fingers, counting sugar and carbs
exercising and eating right
It's the ever constant remedy to over coming this metabolic fight
My life's forever changed but I stand bold and strong
Educating and awareness to my fellowman in this I can't go wrong
A brand new task my body has claimed
Type2 diabetes is what I have it doesn't replace my name
A vibrant and faithful woman
accepting this ailment of fate
Counting my daily blessings
To my father forever I give thanks.

Anointing & Reviving
By Monique Gordon

Anointing

After our nature walk

I bathe Endo’s paws with passion,

like Mary Madeline.

Reviving

At 3 a.m., I Alert my mistress

of low blood sugars.

I am her Canine of the Lamp.

"I Am...." by Maxine Mintz, Age 10 (T1 x 3 yrs)
I am loving and strong
I wonder how many creations there are in the world
I hear the heater go off in the classroom
I see people everywhere
I want world peace
I am loving and strong.

I pretend to be an animal
I feel like I'm loved by my family
I touch ice cream and candy
I worry about family and death
I cry when I feel sad and broken.

I understand why people get mad
I say that things will get better
I dream about a clean world
I try to be my best
I hope I'll be safe
I am loving and strong.

Daydream

Wake up.
Hardly slept.
I don’t look so well today.
Try to tell myself that I am fine
But I really don’t feel so great, either.
The circles under my eyes are growing.

Will myself to stop. Stop worrying.
Stop letting it devour you.

This disease has allowed me to appreciate
each day, each experience.
I am alive.
But with it I carry the weight and constant burden
of a panic-filled low blood sugar
or an equally exhausting high one.

Impossible to stop.

“Her blood sugars are just erratic.”
I’ve heard that so many times.
“No pattern.”
No hope?

Hope is the only thing I have left,
but it often knocks me in the gut.
It grabs my heart and pumps it faster, telling me
I am alive.
But anxious.

Work, work, work.
Where are the results?
If I put in the hours, the diligence
I should succeed.
I’m starting to learn that life doesn’t work that way.

This invisible malady shows not outward signs.
Yet.
And I live my life trying not to either.

In my mind I bend the lines
between real life and a magic
where in the blink of an eye
I have a functioning pancreas.

I live with a gun to my head
The barrel digs into my temple.
I follow orders
Eat this.
Drink this.
Shoot.
I pull on the plunger, draw out the clear liquid
that smells like band aids, and pierce my skin.
I’d rather shoot myself than die.

The Diagnosis

Your food is poison
But there is an antidote
It is poison too

Woke up wondering
What is my blood sugar now?
And so go the days

Winter Wreath

In autumn we collect our pine cones,
gather our firewood,
steal tiny branches of red Winter Berries from the pheasants.

In winter
I'll make my wreaths of pine cones and wine corks.
I'll rock and watch my fireplace burn,
smile as the flames sputter from the pitch
and solemnly drink my red wine.

Give the red drop, see the backlit numbers...

Nights I will dream,
free of the sputters of dawn phenomena.

I just want to say that I love the idea of the book and the results that appear here, but I'm not sure about the idea of a contest.