I’ve been under a massive gout attack the last few days that is finally starting to subside so I thought what better way to get some frustration out than to write a poem about it. Anybody out there suffer with this? It stinks, right? Throw some stories my way if you feel like venting about it. We can share this pain together.
Gout, a 1799 caricature by James Gillray
Lurking in the body,
deep in the shadows of uric acid.
Hides a creature,
that isn’t so passive.
One day you are fine,
the next day you’re not.
This creature has attacked,
right on the spot.
You can fight it,
try to show it the door.
You will not win,
because this animal knows how to roar.
The best you can do,
is find a place to lay low.
Because if you can endure,
it will go away, ever so slow.
But even when its gone,
it is always there.
Hiding and lurking in the shadows,
soulless and evil, a creature without a care.
Gout (also known as podagra when it involves the big toe)[1] is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected (approximately 50% of cases). However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate nephropathy. It is caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the blood which crystallizes and the crystals are deposited in joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues.
A Poetry Journey 