I am not a diabetic.

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I am not a diabetic.

I have diabetes - you see?

I am not obese,

I do not smoke or drink,

I am a hungry vegetarian,

and I swim in the sea each day.

Then you shouldn't have diabetes?

But unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

My dad had diabetes and

it was his parting gift to me.

So I have made friends with my condition,

it calls me son and I call it Pop,

as I pop another pill.

I treat him with every consideration 

and we do love to get it right.

My doctor treats him with reverence

and prescribes only the best wrapped gifts,

to assuage his temper, and hopefully one day 

will inject some realism into my insinuation

and oft repeated question,

 "Oh why dad, why? Oh why?".

Now it ought to be OK? You say.

But these bloody auto-antibodies 

go hunting in a pack.

So another pill for cholesterol,

another for BP, 

I know these rustling popper packs 

will be the life of me.

But I am not a diabetic!

Repeat that after me,

and then maybe you will see,

that whatever my glucose status,

it is me you see - yes me.

So please don't stick a label

for now you know the truth.

You know that I suffer from diabetes,

as you might do,

one day.