In school my teachers
confused slow and dyslexic.
Dyslexia was little known
among the educated back then.
The rearrangement of words
has been both a hindrance and a boon.
The hindrance was readily evident
with corporal punishment dispensed
at my perceived lack of progress
with my early ABCs.
The boon came through art and poetry
and the discovery of Magritte
that gave my unintentional juxtapositions
value and beauty.
For a day at University
my mind switched the first letters
of every word in spoken sentences
amusing my fellow students
who said I was weird
for practicing this parlor trick.
copyright © 2023 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 