Repetitive Strain Injury
On diagnosis I gave way to grief,
fearing my writing life was at an end.
It hurts to do the thing that brings relief
from all the other pain, I told a friend.
Mischievously misunderstanding me,
he said, get a vibrator; that’ll do it,
and I, amused by his audacity,
decided there might be some substance to it.
I can recall first finding language fun
and being fascinated to discover
that substituting letters one by one
could change a given word into another.
Writing soon turns to self-abuse indeed;
Waiting and Wanting are the steps you need.
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