sunshine made from rain

today, i've been teetering along tears
i don't know what or why
to stay in bed
or get into a car and go
go somewhere that might take me away.

there's a grief inside me
though i don't know its name
it reaches up into my throat
with its clenched fist
making it difficult to swallow.

the cluck cluck of chickens
comes through the open window
floating in from the farm
it's magic born from sadness and suffering
it's sunshine made from rain.

sometimes

i look over at my favorite pair of shoes
once white
now that faded farm stained color
no laces
and frayed
around every exposed edge

and i think,
i know exactly how you feel.

writing about cfs

"It isn't just my story that I am telling though I am here to tell it. It is the story of millions of people. It is a story that has been hidden instead of shared to its demise. Its invisibility has only perpetuated its mistreatment.  "

With all of the news coming out around Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) I felt it was time to tell my own experience with having this disease for the past 16 years. I've written an autobiographical short story: http://bealightcfsawareness.blogspot.com/2010/09/short-story-written-and-told-from.html.

Please let me know any thoughts, ideas, critiques on this piece of work. I do believe that these stories need to be out there. People are reading about the evolving science, but don't necessarily understand the significance without understanding the experience.

Sincerely,
Amberlin Wu

MV Voice
OMVNA
NPR
oprah
new yorker

sun magazine?
new york times?