Pacman Virus Poem by Margaret Alice

I have just a small measure of control
over my actions, mostly trying to help
and being nice; when I sit down staring
at a text that holds no interest; all self-
control is lost, I can’t force my eyes to
stay down, my thoughts jump around

When I stop all mental and imaginative
activity to force my eyes to follow lines
of grey words, my brain blows its fuses
and stops working, all that I write is utter
nonsense; there is a monster living in
my head; a kind of Pacman

A chewing mouth destroying all in its path,
a virus that devours my mental files leaving
me dumb, listless, apathetic and catatonic,
I hand in the grossest mistakes and spend
days feeling miserable and ashamed – yet
when the text appears again

My brain is electrified and summersaults into
oblivion - I’m left with nothing…