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    <title>hives &amp;mdash;     </title>
    <link>https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:hives</link>
    <description>Attempts at writing... Short stories, poetry, essays, and a novel someday...</description>
    <pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:13:47 +0000</pubDate>
    <item>
      <title>Unknown territory</title>
      <link>https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/unknown-territory?pk_campaign=rss-feed</link>
      <description>&lt;![CDATA[From the Dark Corners series #3  &#xA;!--more--&#xA;&amp;nbsp;  &#xA;It sets off on an adventure  &#xA;Exploring every corner of this new territory  &#xA;Creating its own soft hills and valleys  &#xA;Impervious to the disaster it leaves behind  !--more--  &#xA;Coming and going on its own volition  &#xA;Every morning a new map is drawn  &#xA;Same process and yet always different  &#xA;It&#39;s itching, itching until it can&#39;t be ignored  &#xA;Like a wave, burning, swelling  &#xA;Until it&#39;s flooding a territory not its own  &#xA;Its reasons are unclear  &#xA;And demand further investigation  &#xA;Drugs can be a way to apprehend it  &#xA;Although a temporary way  &#xA;Its deeper motives indeed  &#xA;Need to be uncovered and comprehended  &#xA;Only then can it be tamed, and rid for good.  &#xA;&amp;nbsp;    &#xA;&amp;nbsp;   &#xA;---  &#xA;&amp;nbsp;     &#xA;This poem is as raw as I wrote it on the worst morning of a 3-week bout of severe hives and angioedema. It came to me in a wave just like the hives did.&#xA;Thank goodness it finally got better earlier this week.&#xA;So this morning, I took a 3hr dance workshop. I was not sure if I should go. First I&#39;m not a morning exercise kind of person, but also my body was so exhausted. My muscles felt weak. I could sense I needed replenishing and I was not sure I could go through a 3hr dance class. But Rianne made it so gentle and soft, inviting and caring. It&#39;s probably only in the last hour that I felt a new flow of energy, the liveliness re-integrating my body.  &#xA;  &#xA;I hadn&#39;t realized how much of a toll this whole thing took on me, physically and mentally, until at the end of the workshop, when sharing our thoughts, I was unable to hold my tears. Contained within those tears was a messy mix of feelings: all the stress from both the illness and not knowing why it was happening or how long it would last; all the fatigue from not sleeping well; but also the gratitude of being here in a safe and judgement-free space where I could share those feelings; and the appreciation of being able to deal with this from a place of privilege, privilege of having a great family doctor who cares and listens, privilege of friends and family I can count on, privilege of not stressing about other things like money or housing.  &#xA;  &#xA;The title of the song for the phrase we danced at the end felt so appropriate. It&#39;s called &#34;God Turn Me Into a Flower&#34; by Weyes Blood (beautiful and soothing song by the way). And that&#39;s really how I felt, like a flower blooming again after the winter.  &#xA;  &#xA;I know the hives could come back anytime. And I&#39;m still pretty tired. But for now, I will just be grateful for my healthy and fully functioning body and mind, while having a new understanding and admiration for those who suffer from chronic pain and illness. And I will try to be more attentive to my body, who was probably trying to tell me something worth listening to.  &#xA;&amp;nbsp;  &#xA;&amp;nbsp;  &#xA;&amp;nbsp;  &#xA;#Poetry #english #FromTheDarkCornersSeries #dance #hives #illness #ChronicPain #health #energy #flow #MentalHealth #gratitude&#xA;]]&gt;</description>
      <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em>From the Dark Corners</em> series #3<br/>

 <br/>
It sets off on an adventure<br/>
Exploring every corner of this new territory<br/>
Creating its own soft hills and valleys<br/>
Impervious to the disaster it leaves behind  <br/>
Coming and going on its own volition<br/>
Every morning a new map is drawn<br/>
Same process and yet always different<br/>
It&#39;s itching, itching until it can&#39;t be ignored<br/>
Like a wave, burning, swelling<br/>
Until it&#39;s flooding a territory not its own<br/>
Its reasons are unclear<br/>
And demand further investigation<br/>
Drugs can be a way to apprehend it<br/>
Although a temporary way<br/>
Its deeper motives indeed<br/>
Need to be uncovered and comprehended<br/>
Only then can it be tamed, and rid for good.<br/>
 <br/>
 </p>

<hr/>

<p> <br/>
This poem is as raw as I wrote it on the worst morning of a 3-week bout of severe hives and angioedema. It came to me in a wave just like the hives did.
Thank goodness it finally got better earlier this week.
So this morning, I took a 3hr dance workshop. I was not sure if I should go. First I&#39;m not a morning exercise kind of person, but also my body was so exhausted. My muscles felt weak. I could sense I needed replenishing and I was not sure I could go through a 3hr dance class. But Rianne made it so gentle and soft, inviting and caring. It&#39;s probably only in the last hour that I felt a new flow of energy, the liveliness re-integrating my body.</p>

<p>I hadn&#39;t realized how much of a toll this whole thing took on me, physically and mentally, until at the end of the workshop, when sharing our thoughts, I was unable to hold my tears. Contained within those tears was a messy mix of feelings: all the stress from both the illness and not knowing why it was happening or how long it would last; all the fatigue from not sleeping well; but also the gratitude of being here in a safe and judgement-free space where I could share those feelings; and the appreciation of being able to deal with this from a place of privilege, privilege of having a great family doctor who cares and listens, privilege of friends and family I can count on, privilege of not stressing about other things like money or housing.</p>

<p>The title of the song for the phrase we danced at the end felt so appropriate. It&#39;s called “God Turn Me Into a Flower” by Weyes Blood (beautiful and soothing song by the way). And that&#39;s really how I felt, like a flower blooming again after the winter.</p>

<p>I know the hives could come back anytime. And I&#39;m still pretty tired. But for now, I will just be grateful for my healthy and fully functioning body and mind, while having a new understanding and admiration for those who suffer from chronic pain and illness. And I will try to be more attentive to my body, who was probably trying to tell me something worth listening to.<br/>
 <br/>
 <br/>
 <br/>
<a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:Poetry" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">Poetry</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:english" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">english</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:FromTheDarkCornersSeries" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">FromTheDarkCornersSeries</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:dance" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">dance</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:hives" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">hives</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:illness" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">illness</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:ChronicPain" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">ChronicPain</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:health" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">health</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:energy" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">energy</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:flow" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">flow</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:MentalHealth" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">MentalHealth</span></a> <a href="https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/tag:gratitude" class="hashtag"><span>#</span><span class="p-category">gratitude</span></a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
      <guid>https://blog.echoingfrog.ca/unknown-territory</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 May 2023 01:40:55 +0000</pubDate>
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