Wednesday, March 2, 2011

S/Found Poem


S/Found Poem

The healthy don’t know what they’re missing.
It seems like someone
is cracking a whip
inside my ears
each time I move my eyes
swiftly from side to side.
Tinnitus sways to some strange drums.
Not everyone gets to experience
this inervating oddity.
And, Richard Burton once
almost lost an eye
in a knifefight;
it hung by a thread.
You know, he said,
you can see
the most extraordinary
things with your eye
hanging half-way
down your face.

Photo by Symphen

2 comments:

  1. Tinnitus, the disruptive ringing in the ears that affects millions of people, originates not in the ear but in the brain, and not even exclusively in the brain's auditory centers, a new study has shown.

    In research published Monday in Neurology, scientists at UB and the Buffalo VA Medical Center show that some people with tinnitus can change the ear-ringing by specific eye movements, evidence that one sensory system can affect another.

    "These findings show us that in many cases, tinnitus is not caused by a simple disturbance of brain function, but by a combination of things, including an abnormal interaction between the visual and auditory systems," said Alan H. Lockwood, first author on the study. Lockwood is professor of neurology, nuclear medicine, and communicative disorders and sciences and directs the Center for Positron Emission tomography (PET), a joint UB/VA venture.

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  2. I just love this found poem, Pat. Perfect. Well spotted & well done.

    I get tinnitus (mild) when I am anxious. I am going to roll my eyes around to get rid of it. Score!

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