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époque press
pronounced: /epƏk/
definition: /time/era/period

Luca Margherita Damiani
Poetry

As The Spoon Empties

As the spoon empties,

It is difficult to walk.

As the spoon empties,

It is challenging to see.

As the spoon empties,

I am sorry for not functioning.

Chronic flow in sensory disability,

Turning self into a spoonie,

Damned those forks and knives!

Impaired central nervous system,

Almost like a sudden crashed broken plate.

I wish I could have more spoons…

 

…maybe even teaspoons as those could still help indeed.

The reality is that I only have the spoon I have today,

But I should be able to refill it tomorrow,

And that is what matters most.

Day by day,

Spoon by spoon.

LucaMDamiani_AsTheSpoonEmpties_02.jpg

Luca is a published author-artist and is a university fellow, focusing his ongoing practice and research on neuroscience, neuro-diversity and mental health. Luca has high-functioning autism and also suffers from a sensory disability and related mental illnesses triggered by an accident in 2018. Luca has collaborated with many institutions internationally, such as BMJ Medical Humanities, Hearing Health Foundation, Science Gallery, Graphic Medicine, Computer Arts Society, Mozilla Foundation, NESTA, Amnesty International, BBC, Disney, TATE, V&A and more.

 

www.lucadamiani-art.com

 

Of the poem featured here, Luca states:

 

‘I live with chronic pain due to an impairment of my nervous system - sound, light, movement, smell - all these sensory inputs affect me in a way that is very disabling and at times almost impossible to control. An invisible disability that has changed my life hugely, and that often breaks me down to the point of not wanting to exist anymore. “As The Spoon Empties” was written specifically in response to the theme of “Shortage”. I am a spoonie and so, spoon by spoon (of energy) I function.'

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