AN ACCOUTREMENT OR PROSTHETIC?
A stoma is an extra bit
to help us cope with all our shit.
Just a bit of our colon
protruding from our abdomen.
How do we perceive this thing?
And what emotions does it bring?
We know it’s artificial so
is it a friend or is it foe?
Maybe we can’t assimilate
and feelings tend to oscillate
between a fond appreciation
or feeling some humiliation.
As and when we’re reflective
many different perspectives
can spring to mind about our lot
and this appendage that we’ve got.
I use a glue for prosthetics
and so I felt the aesthetics
of my stoma would apply
to a prosthetic gone awry.
But yesterday I shared a thought
about accoutrements which brought
a response from Terry who
had spent some time to think this through.
She felt ‘accoutrements’ described
the stoma she had on her side,
and this perspective helped her to
a more positive point of view.
I like to think when said and done,
that you and me and everyone
who has a stoma can adjust
in whatever way we must.
B. Withers 2023
