To a chronically pained body
Dominik Parisien is a writer, editor, and poet. His recent work can be found in PRISM International, The Humber Literary Review, The Fiddlehead, Arc Poetry Magazine, Riddle Fence, and various other journals. He is the author of the chapbook We, Old Young Ones. Dominik is a disabled, bisexual French Canadian. He lives in Toronto.
You modern Ovid, you are the tales
& the teller. Pain made metaphor is
pain made real. Reality seldom allows
for it without language. & once worded,
metamorphosis follows. Many will
make of you a narrative. Some curiosity
to interpret. Split the parts apart
for meaning. Question the analysis.
Then comes another with new
interpretation. Definitive theories. Always
back to meaning. And you, called mal-
functioning machine, broken engine, or
some other thing in this new vernacular.
Remember: you have a name. You are
that body, yes, & that story & more & more
& more.
Dominik Parisien is a writer, editor, and poet. His recent work can be found in PRISM International, The Humber Literary Review, The Fiddlehead, Arc Poetry Magazine, Riddle Fence, and various other journals. He is the author of the chapbook We, Old Young Ones. Dominik is a disabled, bisexual French Canadian. He lives in Toronto.