I found a diary entry

dated

in black bold letters at the top

of the page, September 19^th 1986.

In the mix of teenage scrawl

and practised finer examples

of handwriting to come,

I noted that

Pat Pheonix

had died the day before;

I also wrote, took some pain killers today,

is the discomfort new, or am I just

noticing it for the first time,

as my neck stiffened at an awkward angle