A Little Respect by Lorraine Brooks

Enjoy this poem, A Little Respect, by Lorraine Brooks. Lorraine shared this poem on Divabetic’s podcast inspired by Aretha Franklin

Over the years, Lorraine has shared poems shedding light on society’s shame and blame directed at people with diabetes’s size and shape. Aretha Franklin struggled with several undisclosed issues (pancreatic cancer, type diabetes, tobacco use) and fluctuating weight issues throughout her career. It’s been reported that at age 34,  Aretha started yoyo dieting with alternating weight loss and gain.

A LITTLE RESPECT by Lorraine Brooks

Look at me.
Look at the pain
In my eyes.
All that you see
Is my
Overweight size.
Inside is a person
Who needs to
Be heard.
Needs to let go of
The hurt
I’ve incurred.
I’m not uninformed
And I’m not unaware.
I am not lazy
And yes, I DO care.
I haven’t abandoned
My health or my needs.
I’ve just redefined
What it means
To Succeed.
I am not here
To live up to your charts
Or conform to your standards
For my body parts.
It’s not called depression
It doesn’t need meds
I won’t go to blazes and
I won’t drop dead.
I don’t have the answer
To all of life’s queries,
I don’t want to hear about
All of your theories.
Just treat me with value
As part of the clan
And do not compare me to those
Smaller than.
Look at me
Look at the smile
I reflect
And treat me with love
And a little
Respect.

Enjoy this episode of Divabetic’s podcast with music from Aretha Franklin.

Aretha Franklin was considered the legend of legends, a groundbreaking singer with the fortitude to transcend race and genre, using voice as the bulldozer to break down every barrier set up in her way.

Aretha’s health journey sparks a discussion about the uncertain connection between pancreatic cancer and diabetes. Long-standing diabetes can be considered a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. It causes a modest increase in the risk of 1.5- to two-fold. Other risk factors for pancreatic cancer include smoking, chronic pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas), family history of pancreatic cancer, obesity, and specific genetic syndromes.

Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport, Diabetes Strong’s owner Christel Oerum, Beautyphonics CEO and “Beneath The Makeup” Author Suzanne Perez, Jessica Clark, and Trisha Artman.

This podcast features music from Aretha Franklin’s Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics’ courtesy of SONY Music.

Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a  lot.”

Buttons by Lorraine Brooks

Enjoy this poem, Buttons, by Lorraine Brooks, whose monthly poetry contributions on Divabetic’s podcast help inform and enlighten our listeners. Over the years, Lorraine has helped me champion a weight-neutral approach to managing diabetes. She has shown me and countless others how focusing solely on the number you see on the scale can harm your diabetes health.

Taking a weight-neutral approach involves working outside the confines of weight loss as the primary goal for managing your diabetes. The goal is to respect the body and learn how to cultivate healthy habits. Unlike traditional approaches to weight loss, weight is not used as an indicator of health. The focus is on size acceptance, consistent self-care behaviors, and diabetes care. You can be healthy at every size. 

BUTTONS by Lorraine Brooks

I’ve never had buttons

On top of my jeans

I’ve only been able

To wear size of “queens”.

Elastic has often been

Something I needed

In clothing that made me feel

Somewhat defeated.

I longed for the feeling

Of putting on pants

Not worrying if people

Looked at me

Askance.

No more stretch fabric

And no more a “plus”,

And seeing my booty

As big as a bus.

I’m tucking my shirt in,

I’m wearing no sleeves,

My body is freedom

My body believes.

The old grey sweatshirt

That I used to dread

I’m wearing a cardigan sweater

Instead.

I know that this “victory”

Might not seem much

And that I am not “perfect” or

Gorgeous and such.

But trust me and listen

When I have to say

I buttoned my jeans today…

Hip, hip hooray!

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic plays the food game, Serve, Taste or Trash! at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

31 Days Of Divabetic Podcasts, Day Eleven

Divabetic (Divabetic.org) presents a month-long showcase celebrating 10 years of diabetes podcasting. Each of the featured podcasts spotlights our favorite guests, topics, poems, games and/or musical inspiration. Enjoy!

On Day 11, we’re spotlighting Diabetes Roundtable Inspired by Esther Williams from July 2013.

From “Bathing Beauty” in 1944 to “Jupiter’s Darling” in 1955, Esther Williams swam in Technicolor pools, lakes, lagoons and oceans, cresting onto the list of Top 10 box-office stars in 1949 and 1950.

In a bathing suit, she was a special kind of all-American girl: tall, lithe, breathtakingly attractive and unpretentious. From the beginning, Ms. Williams wrote in her autobiography, “I sensed the water was my natural element.” She estimated that she had swum over 1,250 miles for the cameras.

Esther Williams became one of the most famous swimmers in history without ever participating in an Olympic Games, because she found opportunities that were disguised in many obstacles that she confronted. She spoke of movie stardom as her “consolation prize,” won instead of the Olympic gold medal for which she had yearned.

Swimming is like life with opportunities frequently disguised. When you become disappointed with your present plight, consider how Esther Williams’ disappointment from not participating in the 1940 Olympics led her to opportunities she could have never imagined.

“This podcast was really a game changer for us because of Lorraine Brooks’s poem,” says Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek. “Initially when I asked Lorraine to write a poem about ‘the beach’, she declined. She had an uneasy feeling that I might not like her poem because it wasn’t ‘upbeat’ or ‘happy’ enough to fit in with our typical podcast format. I assured her that I wanted her to write whatever she felt inside her heart. Her ‘Beauty & Beach’ poem is probably the most popular poem she has shared on our podcast. Her words not only captured listeners’ hearts but they also re-shaped our podcast’s format to reflect a more authentic view of diabetes; the good and the bad along with everything in between.

I hope you enjoy Poet Lorraine Brooks’s poem “Beauty & The Beach” from our Diabetes Roundtable podcast inspired by Esther Williams originally broadcast in July 2013.

 

bb.001.jpg

Beauty and the Beach by Poet Lorraine Brooks

I’m not Esther Williams.

I’m not even close.

My body in bathing suits

Feels clumsy and gross.

I look at the swimmers

And look at the pool,

And suddenly feel

Like a a fat ugly fool.

READ FULL POEM 

 

Esther Williams’ life, legacy and love of swimming inspires Divabetic’s Roundtable podcast from July 2013. The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic talks about the ‘Best Of Summer’ featuring the best in summer reads, swimsuits and diabetes self-care advice. Special Guests include: Author Brenda Novak, Image & Style Advisor Catherine Schuller, Poet Lorraine Brooks, Mama Rose Marie, Fitness Expert Tiffany Savion, Kathy Gold, RN, CDE, Neva White CRNP, CDE and Leslie living with type 1 diabetes.

Divabetic’s monthly podcasts are dedicated to Music Lovers living with, at risk and/or affected by diabetes. We aim to be the epicenter of the circle of care, a link between patients and their health care providers, a translator of clinical speak and a bridge between denial and acceptance, fear and confidence

Divabetic was inspired by the late music legend, Luther Vandross and created in 2005 by Max ‘Mr. Divabetic’ Szadek, who, as Vandross’ assistant of 14 years, witnessed his boss, mentor, and friend struggle in silence and solitude with the diabetes and its related complications. Since its inception, Divabetic has presented outreach programs in 15 major U.S. cities, reaching hundreds of thousands of women, their families and health care professionals.

Experience more of our GLAM MORE, FEAR LESS philosophy at divabetic.org