And yet they will say
That I was not
Or will not say
That I was
Or was not
Or perhaps not
They
With BAs and MAs
Will take these words away
This is the Author’s curse
They will say
I was spoken
I was slave
To grammar and verse
They will write
As I have written
About my nothingness
My motionlessness
The extent of my existence
My stolen words
Xeroxed in every thought
Through plagiarised verse
They will say
I have written nothing
I have authored nothing
I have been authored
By those who file
These words in single file
Of severed selves
Into the alphabetised order
Of library shelves
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