What Does the Word ‘Migraine’ Mean?

What does the word ‘migraine’ mean to you?

You say you think it’s just an excuse

A word we use to avoid people-

Well, I really wish that was the case.

To me, the word ‘migraine’ means a lot:

My dad remembers his first migraine,

Demonstrated by an old photo

Of a child sobbing in a bathtub.

My mom doesn’t remember her first,

But my dad drove her to the ER

And held her hair while she vomited,

So many times, before I was born.

A migraine means cleaning out the bowl

That she vomited in from her bed,

Because she can’t crawl to the bathroom

Or do anything other than cry.

A migraine means failing algebra

After that hellish diagnosis:

“So… you have chronic, daily migraines”-

I lost years of my life in a mist.

A migraine means chasing the phantoms

Of ‘triggers’, just to catch them and find

That your ‘trigger’ is your existence,

And the only remedy is time.

A migraine means fielding suggestions

From so many well-meaning people

Mixed with suggestions from your own thoughts:

Yoga, Botox, a knife to the brain.

A migraine means putting on makeup,

Picking your outfit, taking your meds,

Only to collapse in pain and guilt-

‘Cause the meds didn’t work yet again.

Last month we all went on vacation!

We rented a cabin in the woods,

Then through the thin walls I heard a sound:

I knocked, and asked “Mama, need a bowl?”

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