Stephanie Vargas:
"I was diagnosed with Epilepsy at the age of 12, and it has been such a journey. I began writing as a coping mechanism because with Epilepsy, comes an entire host of mental health issues. This is one of the first poems I ever wrote about Epilepsy.
Epilepsy
By: Stephanie Vargas
“Freedom may be most keenly conveyed through struggle and tension, the nobilities of control in the proximity of chaos.”
-- Dean Young, The Art of Recklessness
He lives in my brain
The miniscule monster with a god-complex,
Trying to extort the electricity
That belongs to me.
This miniscule monster with a god-comkplex
Is a master of identity theft,
Stealing what belongs to me:
My brain, my life, my sanity --
This master of identity theft
Treasures tantrum-throwing throughout
My brain, my life, and my sanity.
Making my legs uncooked spaghetti.
My tantrum-throwing monster
Creates earthquakes in my brain,
Making my uncooked spaghetti legs
Quiver at the foundation of me.
These earthquakes in my brain
Leave destruction and take all freedom,
An already quivering foundation,
I’m short-circuiting.
Left with destruction, void of freedom,
I feel him swimming in my brainjuice.
I’m short-circuiting
My frontal lobe is fried and frayed.
I feel him swimming in my brainjuice.
Electric eels snake down my neck
Away from my fried frontal lobe.
I become a staccato tango, dancing horizontally.
The electric eels snake down my neck
And spreads like a power surge through my body.
I am a staccato tango, dancing horizontally --
A toaster oven mistaken for a life preserver.
It spreads like a power surge through my body
Damaging my brain.
Toaster ovens as life preservers. This is
The exorcism of my electricity.
When it comes to Epilepsy, everything is taken one day at a time. Today, my greatest hopes for the future are remaining seizure free for a year, getting my license back, finishing up my bachelor’s degree (because people with epilepsy truly can do anything they set their minds to), and raising awareness for Epilepsy and all that it encompasses."
