Behind the Mask

Excerpt from Poem, Behind The Mask by Susan Newson

Deep behind the Mask
My true Self lies.
Too afraid to ask
And dead beneath the eyes.

I wish that I could share
That in you I can confide.
But do I really dare
To let you glimpse inside…?

This compilation has been published in an attempt to give the reader an idea of what it is like, both physically and emotionally, to live with HMS or EDS.  It has taken the poets a lot of courage to share their innermost thoughts, feelings and frustrations about how their condition effects them, but they have done so in the hope of providing a glimpse of what it is like to live “Behind The Mask”: