Vertigo runs on both sides of my family, particularly my father’s. They say it’s caused by crystals forming in the inner ear, and I’ve employed the Epley Maneuver with a mild degree of relief on a few occasions. I usually have a debilitating case of vertigo strike, on average, twice a year so bad that I don’t walk or drive. I never know exactly when it is coming, but I often feel it building and know immediately on waking that it’s here for the day, until I sleep it off through a full night. There is no silver lining in it, either. It’s not the type of sick day where reading a book by the fire or taking the dogs out for a quick walk or doing a load of laundry can happen. I can only close my eyes, rest my head, stay still in bed (with a small trashcan within reach) where I’m safe from falling. I thought I felt a vertigo visit building early last week (the left eye pressure happens), but it never manifested itself full force, thank goodness. My gratitude that it did not come calling inspired today’s poem – a sonnet.
Vertigo Sonnet
on mornings of verge-of-vertigo
when all the world's a tiny boat
I go into chupacabra mode
(just not the kind that blood-sucks goats)
the world's on edge~ my left eye throbs~
this mystic creature no one sees
my dizzied nausea sunshine robs
flailing T-rex arms, buckling camel knees
it starts up in the corner ceiling
my room's a whoosh of tilts and spins
an onset of a monstrous feeling
this day's a wash before it begins
only one way back to life: go through
float this dinghy 'til day is new
Common Threads 
Beautifully crafted poem! I have only had vertigo once and it was unlike anything I had experienced…I can’t imagine it being a part of my life on a fairly regular basis. (I told my husband, after it was all over, that it was like being college-drunk without any of the fun!)
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Amy, that’s a great way to describe it! Thanks for reading!!
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Your boat metaphor works perfectly!
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First, I’m always impressed by anyone who can write a sonnet. I find the rhythm and the rhyme so hard…if I’m hoping also for meaning. My favorite line is “my room’s a whoosh of tilts and spins” because not only does it describe the feeling, it has all those soft sounds that give the feeling of flow, as opposed to stability. I had my first case of vertigo this summer in a hotel room. I didn’t know what was happening and as a result kept making the same mistake of turning my head in the wrong direction…toward the whooshing spinning feeling. I’m trying to imagine going through that twice a year. I’m sorry you have to deal with that.
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Oh, wow! In a hotel room – – I hope you had someone with you to take the wheel if you had to leave. That is one of my greatest fears with Vertigo is being on a trip or in a place where I have to be in transit and there is no one there to help. Your description is spot on with the head turning in the wrong direction.
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First, thanks for opening sharing the backstory of this poem. So sorry for you to deal with this more than once. Yet, I think that is why this poem is so powerful. You gathered all our vivid recollections and poured them into this poem. I find the final lines stunning:
only one way back to life: go through
float this dinghy ’til day is new
Advice for all and any ailment. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you, Sally!
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I am so sorry that you are troubled by vertigo – and happy that today was not its day to visit. Your description is so vivid, and your poem as well – “this day’s a wash before it begins” is my favorite line. What a terrible illness to strike. I do love imagining mystic creatures, but not like this. It is rather ugly magic that it is instigated by a crystal. Be well.
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Thank you, Maureen!
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Well played sonnet that describes well the feeling. My mother had vertigo that lasted a month and would come off and on for years after. It can only be endured. I’m glad your episodes only last for a day.
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Margaret, oh my – I can barely tolerate it a day. Endured is a good word to describe the Vertigo days.
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That sonnet perfectly describes vertigo & how miserable it is. My grandmother had it too & I remember her describing that left eye pressure. Hopefully it passes quickly.
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Thank you, Anna Maria!
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Holy cow, Kim! This sonnet is incredible. The word choices and imagery are so varied and vivid… all this, with the beats and rhymes falling right. I am so glad the vertigo didn’t hit full force last well – it sounds hellish. But the poetry, divine!
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Thank you, Fran!
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Your sonnet is so eloquent! Thank you for sharing it with us.
I experienced vertigo once. I was by myself. When I awoke and tried to get out of bed, it was just as you wrote, my “room’s a whoosh of tilts and spins” . It was debilitating for the entire day. I lay in the floor with a trash can & blanket pulled from the bed until someone could come over to comfort me.
Like you, I found no silver lining. I worried for months and wanted to know how to avoid it.
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Thank you, Patricia! I see you have the same idea about how to get through Vertigo – – we can only suffer through.
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Kim, wow, what imaginative imagery in your sonnet. You know vertigo, and it shows! It sounds awful. This is my favorite line: “when all the world’s a tiny boat” I can imagine that because I know how seasick I can get in a tiny boat, but to have the whole world feel like that sounds horrendous.
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Thank you, Denise! That tiny boat rides the swells.
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