glasses

i sit myself down

cautiously

and he says

you should have had glasses

years ago

your brain doesn’t use your left eye

almost at all

and your right has been doing

all of its work

then he has me

reading letters i can barely see

counting the lines on a clock

what is the difference between

red and green

how have you gone your whole life

barely being able to see?

he is so baffled

he checks the national database

to make sure i’ve not

been here before

then, he tells me

this could have been corrected

an eye patch in childhood

let the other eye get stronger

how many times have i

had the opportunity

to be stronger

and failed?

how often

do i put off

doing something i need

an eye test

a proper rest

how many times

have i been compensating

for things someone else

should have done?

and now, in the car

owen is joking

suddenly every sad song

has new meaning

not saying goodbye to a loved one

saying goodbye

to a glasses-less life

how many times

could i have corrected myself

only to find

i’m still weak?

how many times have i

had to accept

there may actually be

something wrong with me?

so now, i’m standing

in front of more glasses

than i’ve ever seen

and none of them suit me

and everyone is waiting

and i still cannot see

i am done

with compensating

for what shouldn’t have been

me

i finally

had my eyes tested

and now

i make sure i am rested.

27/10/26 - 10:09am - owen’s car.