This Will Not Do

When you cannot see
out of your right eye,
it is no good being a writer.

Half of your perception
is vanished. Half of your raw
material is a misty vapor.

This will not do, this will not do.

Whatever other symptoms
you may have, this is surely
the worst of them.

You may have a headache,
a fever, a runny nose. But none
of these will prevent you from writing,

from seeing, from perceiving. This will not do.

With a cloudy, angry eye,
half of your craft is gone
and you can no longer make a living.

When you cannot see
out of your right eye,
it is no good being a writer.