There are many things Dr. M didn’t tell me.
Side effects including (but not limited to):
Nausea brought on by
toothpaste/garlic/cigarettes/conversation
An inclination to fall in love
with portraits of women in art galleries
Occasional difficulty breathing
eased only by Petula Clark
Anxiety around the possibility
that my bed could be unisex
A skin-and-boniness
laughably unsuited to my ‘situation’
And hourly repetitions of
I’m fine I’m fine I’m fine.
There are some things Dr. M knows about me.
Information including (but not limited to):
The fact that Saturn
has had too strong an influence on me
My belief that lipstick and thin cigarettes
are the epitome of female elegance
The anxiety inspired in me
by the very young
The ambivalence
with which I regard the Rubenesque
Some of my fears
including those relevant to my situation
And infrequent repetitions of
I’m fine I’m fine I’m fine.
—
(First published in Lighthouse Issue 9, Gatehouse Press)
