Carried To Safety

Two years ago I began having episodes of terrible vertigo with migraines, lost my sense of balance and was unable to focus my eyes. I am an artist, and this was beyond upsetting. It was debilitating. Despite many medical tests, no one could identify the cause. Recently, after exploring both traditional and alternative medical paths I was diagnosed with a vestibular migraine disorder. This is a poem about my efforts to recover.

Two years ago as I lay sleepless

Thinking of the me I used to be,

Who danced and wrote and painted full of movement

‘Til my life was carried out to sea

When washed ashore no longer could I move or paint or think the same

Was lost except for love and hope and even then could see no gain

I tried the sitting breathing, with mindfulness the hope my life restore

But only felt the pain, and dreamed the dance of life that I adore.

And then came T’ai Chi Chih movement, a conversation new

The syrup air pushed back and forth, a lover’s dance now grew

With each new movement share we did, the universe and I

Now listening more than talking, I realized with my cry

That we were one and now I saw

My fragment life reformed

The flowing healing T’ai Chi Chih dance, by this new song informed.

A note from Diane’s teacher, Bill Nakao, with the poem’s backstory: My student offered to write an article about her experience with TCC but later said she can’t sit at a computer for any length of time because of the bright screen. Instead, she sent this poem.