Repetition Poetry nucka!! =]

The Shame
By Jake Watson
[8.1.11]

The Shame across his forehead,
painted a shameful blue.
The Shame in his voice says,
"I'm a shameful fool."

The Shame runs through his sight,
with shamed looks of vexation.
The Shame keeps him up at night;
a tempestuous shameful sensation.

The Shame holds him mute,
fearing shameful demure.
The Shame chains him to
a shameful bed of torture.

The Shame, with all its' might,
tried a shameful act of treason.
The Shame attacked the life
that kept the shame a'shaming.

But what The Shame didn't see,
during its' shameful greed,
was that The Shame lost its' power
when Shameful He became free.

And Shameful He turned out from me,
and fell to a shameful demise.
And Shameful He left from me,
and The Shame became a lie.

So in the end, The Shame won't win,
or shamefully red our eyes.
Because The Shame only came,
when I let It inside.

Silent but Deadly =/

     Talk about hilarious.  Last monday, April 25th, a man was admitted to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor with a putrid spout of toxic flatulence.  The man, whose name has not been released for obvious potential embarassment issues, had apparently thought it was a good idea to eat some rat poison.  Thus, resulting in poisonous gas emitting from the isolated patients fusty bunghole. omfg. Really?  Whats the deal, man?  There's got to be a good reason to eat that shit.  Better be a good reason, that mans poor asshole is going to chemically peel itself into eighths. Thats about the time you sell your body to the local dumpster divers for a couple pills of Seroquel and sleep for eighteen days.  Hopefully by then the smoldering of the rectum has been embogged. 

Life Without

      So turns out I'm obnoxiously obsessed and intensely addicted to the boob tube.  It's an embarrassing pleasure of mine that reels me into euphoria every night.  I'm so turned on by daytime talk shows and the hilarious wednesday night of comedy on Ah Beh Ceh. I'm wondering if a call to the balding beauty Dr. Phil would do me any help.   But in recent events and unfortunate mishaps, I lost all control of my precious.  DISH Network, the bungholes they are, decided to be total bleeotches to my parents, and ol' pops wasn't havin' that.  I can still here Dad dropkicking the reciever through the outlett mall where the unlucky DISH Service Members awaited a witness of total embarrassment.  All on my part, might I add.  I was thankful though because we had a backup plan, Comcast was already hooking up the boxes at the house.  I was gonna be ok, one day of missing the soaps and losing out on hearing what Whoopie thought about Donald Trumps dumbass mouth, and hair piece.  We were to have the On Demand portion of the package deal, which turns out that the bastards up at Comcast had totally lied to my eardrum and said "oh sure you'll get errrythang on demand."  Bull effing poo.  I get NBC, CBS, and Logo.  Thats about it.  Dont get me wong, I love the gays all over NBC and Logo too, but CBS?  Really?  Thats the best you can do Comcast?  Effing CBS?  My DVR is gone, my Favs Channel Guide List is vamooshed, and I'm stuck with watching endless episodes of RuPauls Drag Race.  I'm so over stupid cable providers.  Gimme "The View" or gimme death.

Who's got gas?

So gas prices suck butt.  I barely make do with the job I have right now.  $8.50 an hour, 20 hours a week.  It's not enough.  And now with effing oil prices up my freeking gas stations are charging an arm and a leg for me to fill 'er up.  $4 a gallon is absolutely ridiculous.  I spend at least sixty bucks a week in gas, and I don't go anywhere.  I drive back and forth to work, and back and forth to school.  It's really cutting in to Jakey's happy time.  I haven't been able to afford anything, no movies, no new xbox games, no tequila.  It's awful.  And now I have to get an oil change and replace my brakes.  I'm over auto-mechanics and transportation.  Give me a goddamn pack mule and let me have the road.  I'm ready for the return of the Pony Express.

Scare Technician. What...a profession.

    My first real job as a lively hormonal teenager was one of a nighmare.  Back in 2007, I worked for the Homer Haunted Mill as a zombie.  I prefer the term scare technician, myself.  But the experience as a whole really changed my outlook of the job force.  I used to dread the fact that one day my catered-to lazy self would have to find a vocation.  One that I would probably hate to wake up for each day, but this work experience really broadened my horizons.  I grew to love working at the Haunted House.  Most would assume it would have been a lax, slack-off workplace, but I busted my ass was all over that piece.  We had secret doors to cawl through to follow customers through the Haunted House.  I had to clean up the messes from the crowds and I actually helped create the monsters each and everyday.  I learned alot from this job.  Believe me, working at a Haunted House is a totally aweomse freekin job.

AIDS: Living With Death

             Imagine the feelings of a terminally ill patient or even a criminal riding on death row.  Imagine knowing your expiration date.  That alone could destroy someone’s universe.  So again, imagine knowing that information and having sickness after sickness drain you to nothing.  Lost, crippled, and left for dead, those living with AIDS have a devastatingly tough time crawling through life.  Since its’ unfortunate conception, nearly 60 million people have had to face their detailed demise each and every day and some still continue to, but for most, as stated earlier, they are living with the disease, not dying.  But not all have been so lucky to outlast the disease; the World Health Organization estimates more than 25 million people have died from the epidemic since its rise.  AIDS has become an unfortunate staple in the worlds list of epidemics.  And with all of our gained knowledge of the disease, we have come so close to being able to help all who are diagnosed with Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome to live with it as well, not to die from it.  Education on the subject not only will be beneficial to those infected, but to everyone.  Prevention will save our future societies, and protect the hearts and lives of millions. (UNAIDS)

            AIDS, in a straightforward definition, is this ominous ailment that weakens the body’s immune system, leaving it paralyzed and unable to bear arms against foreign, destructive infections.  Acquired Immuno 1Deficiency Syndrome is the final stage of a progressive disease known as HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus.  The virus attacks our bodies CD4 cells, or T-cells, which play a major part in our immune system.  The T-Helper and the T-Killer cells cannot detect and destroy the pathogen which makes them susceptible to the virus.  As invasion begins, it hunts for T-cells to reproduce, kill the original helper cell, and continue the process.  If the infection isn’t discovered and nothing is done to subdue the disease, it will become full-blown AIDS.  The virus cannot be destroyed, only slowed and there has been no cure found so far, but there are medicines to keep the virus subsided and allow the patients CD4 count stay higher.  These medicines sometimes have been combined in a cocktail to create a very effective tool in reducing the amount of HIV particles in the infected bloodstream.  But even though these medicines may reduce the reproduction of the virus, the patient is still able to spread infection.  And research for new medicines is being conducted right this second.  There is still hope. (Dugdale)

            The symptoms of this illness are unlike any other.  Signs may show as soon as the virus infects, or they can lay dormant, for years even, and symptoms are different in every single victim.  Symptoms include extreme fatigue and major respiratory problems.  Also, rapid weight loss can occur along with the swelling of the lymph nodes.  Flu-like symptoms occur as well, with high fevers, night sweats, persistent diarrhea, and many others.  When a patient is very close to losing the battle, their CD4 count is below 350 cells/mm³ and opportunistic diseases begin to appear.  Pneumonia, tuberculosis, and certain cancers are among the list of AIDS-indicating disease-like symptoms that occur with end-stage HIV.  But not all symptoms are physical.  As time progresses, the mental process begins to deteriorate, as well. (Dugdale)(Sowadsky) 

               AIDS is not a discriminating epidemic.  It doesn’t choose who to infect or prefer a certain type; it’s a very open-minded disease, if you will.  A few decades ago, when the disease was scary and new and grew to disastrous proportions, frightened citizens conjured up an excuse list of rather ridiculous thoughts.  HIV was supposedly punishment for immoral behavior, i.e. homosexuals, and that those who became infected where seen as demonized or criminalized.  African Americans became targets of those stereotypes as well.  But besides what the stereotypes may say, we all are at risk of contraction. (AVERT)

            AIDS in America alone had contributed to nearly 25,000 thousands deaths in 2008 and is the sixth leading cause of death among people between the ages 25 to 44.  An estimated 1.4 million are living with HIV in the U.S.  Here in America, we have the funding for treatment/prevention centers and rehabilitation facilities, such as the American Foundation for Aids Research and ProjectHope; approximately $15.6 billion in 2008.  This figure includes the money spent on education and HIV treatment services.  In other countries, these statistics are not as affirming as Americas.  The hardest-hit countries include those in the sub-Saharan area of Africa, countries such as Ethiopia, Niger, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda.  According to the UNAIDS.org Statistics, 22.4 million people living in these countries are infected, with an estimated 1.4 million deaths occurring from AIDS in 2008.  These countries are in serious need of help.  6.7 million of sub-Saharan Africa’s people are in need of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to subside the disease.  Unfortunately only 2.9 million are being treated.  This has contributed to the 14 million orphaned children in lower Africa, and to the fact that 67% of people, globally, who are infected live in these southern-African countries.  91% of all new infections among the children occur here as well.  Is it education these countries need?  Is it money?  Whatever it may be that’s halting any progress, it’s killing the population here.  They need our help and our hope. (UNAIDS)

            Those infected with AIDS are deteriorating each and every day from the disease, enduring sickening trials and tribulations.  You’d think by now after all that this retrovirus has destroyed we’d be more concerned with protection and prevention.  AIDS can be easily warded against; protecting you is the number one thing that needs to be done. The spreading of HIV can occur in a number of ways, like through sexual contact, including anal, oral, and vaginal sex, or as well through blood, generally from intravenous drug users sharing needles and very rarely here in the U.S., blood transfusions and organ transplantations with infected organs. The virus can also be spread from mother to child, either from the conception and growth itself or through nursing, and through artificial inseminations as well, if the donor sperm is contaminated.  AIDS cannot be transmitted through things such as hugging, touching a person infected in a general, everyday way, partaking in sports activity, or through mosquitoes.  And if we learn to practice safe sex with condoms or abstinence, don’t share needles for any reason, avoid contact with another’s blood, and those who are infected need to be careful as well.  Be honest with partners and significant others, and pregnant women who are infected are encouraged not to breast feed and should seek additional help on reducing the risk of transmission to the unborn child.  If in turn you take these types of precautions and you are lead to believe you have been in contact with the disease, please be sure to contact your doctor immediately and get tested.  The earlier you catch the virus, the easier it is to slow down. (Dugdale)

            It’s a devastatingly punishing disease that ransacks the lives of the millions it has broken.  Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome has been on blast for years now, calming down the last decade.  That calm is because of the progress we have made in treating and preventing the disease.  We have come so far in what we knew to what we know now, and with this education we can put a stop to this terror.  We can end the killing spree, not let it end us.  Prevention, protection, and education will get us through.

           

Works Cited

Dugdale, David C. “PubMed Health: AIDS.” NCBI. A.D.A.M., 25 May 2010. Web. 14 Feb            2011.

"Global Facts & Figures." UNAIDS.com. World Health Organization, 2009. Web. 14 Feb 2011.

"HIV & AIDS Stigma & Discrimination." AVERT (2010): 1-11. Web. 15 Feb 2011.

“Prevention and Support.” HealthPeople.org, 2004. Web. 13 Feb 2011

Sowadsky, M.S.P.H., Rick. "What Are Opportunistic Diseases?" Body (Jan 2010): Web. 15 Feb

            2011.

Song O' The Moment

     There's no way for my musically-enthused behind to pick a single tune that stands out as my all-time favorite jam.  But being an impulsive, ADHD-ridden indecisive young adult, I tend to shout, "oh emm gee, this is my favorite song of all time" every single time a tune I've grown fond of comes on the radio.  So speaking in temporary terms, my current super-hit would have to be the new single by Lady Gaga "Born This Way".  First off, I should start by saying that this worldly woman has got to be one of the biggest proponents for equal rights, more specifically the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.  Through her music and through her position in the media, she has encouraged millions of oppressed teens and adults to love who they are and not care about the opinions of those who are indifferent and try to break us into nothing.  Through twenty years of experience with hate, I know first-hand exactly what it's like to be loathed for who I am, for not living up to "thier" standards.  She has showed me that I am perfectly on track and ain't nothin' gonna break my stride.  And with this song, she has taught those in the hectics of hate that we are perfect how we are and are born the way we are. 

"No matter gay, straight, or bi,
Lesbian, transgendered life
I'm on the right track baby
I was born to survive
No matter black, white or beige
Chola or orient made
I'm on the right track baby
I was born to be brave"
          -- Lady Gaga "Born This Way"