Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Haywired” by Virginia Boudreau.

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Haywired

By Virginia Boudreau

Plainly stated: you see up and I

down. You turn left, and I

right. My view is off

kilter twisted and skewed.

My synaptic map, my

visual connections: botched.

The direct path from Point

A to B is quick but I prefer

the circuitous route. It’s the one

step forward, two back tango,

the solitary slow waltz,

the dyscalculic shuffle. It takes me

longer, but I see a lot.

Authenticity helps compensate

for the inefficiency of mindfulness.

You see the box, I the space

outside it. You calculate and

gauge with eyes disinclined

to lie; my faulty dendrites find

comfort in imagining. Where

is top and where’s bottom? And,

more to the point: When will it fall

out? Maybe, it’s time to see the tarnished

truth of a world turned topsy turvy.

Can we admit, finally, the measurement’s

been off, that the tired road

forward is not necessarily white and

straight and clearly delineated?

It’s time for possibility to sweep in

and shimmer in all its haywired glory.

It’s time for tilting onto our tuned out ears.

I’m glad I have this inside out,

upside down way of being alive in the world.

Its time for “other” perspectives, shushed and

shamed into silence, to escape the shadow.

It’s time to breathe in all the huge, unruly

splendor and at long last, it’s time to exhale.

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Copyright © Virginia Boudreau

Previously published in the way out is the way in (LCP Chapbook Series, 2021).

Virginia Boudreau (she/her) is a neuro-diverse writer who makes her home in southwestern Nova Scotia, ancestral territory of the Mi’Kmaq. Her poetry has appeared in many Canadian and international literary venues, both in-print and on-line. Some credits include: FreeFall, Fahmidan, The Healing Muse, Big Wing Review, The Antigonish Review, LCP Poetry Pause, Sunlight Press, Westerly, Briefly Write, and Reckoning. More work can be found on her website: ginnyhardingboudreau.com

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