This poem is taken from PN Review 247, Volume 45 Number 5, May - June 2019.
Three Poems
The Worry Book
In the worry book I write down all my worries,
so I don’t have to worry all the time.
But I worry when I write down all my worries
that I might not be writing the right worries,
or I worry I may have forgotten a worry or two.
And I worry people will know how much I worry
and worry my worrying will make them worry.
You see how worrying worrying can be?
It makes me worry: will my worrying make me ill,
give me cancer: now that’s pretty worrying.
But then I worry: these aren’t rational thoughts;
and I worry about the hours I waste worrying,
which turns to months and years, more worrying,
which makes me think of death, the ultimate worry.
And then I start to worry about how I’ll die.
...
In the worry book I write down all my worries,
so I don’t have to worry all the time.
But I worry when I write down all my worries
that I might not be writing the right worries,
or I worry I may have forgotten a worry or two.
And I worry people will know how much I worry
and worry my worrying will make them worry.
You see how worrying worrying can be?
It makes me worry: will my worrying make me ill,
give me cancer: now that’s pretty worrying.
But then I worry: these aren’t rational thoughts;
and I worry about the hours I waste worrying,
which turns to months and years, more worrying,
which makes me think of death, the ultimate worry.
And then I start to worry about how I’ll die.
...
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