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The Intake Questionnaire for the Pain Clinic Ask if Pain Has Prevented Me From Having a Fulfilling Life by Kyla Jamieson

By T.

24 January 2026

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The Intake Questionnaire for the Pain Clinic Ask if Pain Has Prevented Me From Having a Fulfilling Life
Kyla Jamieson

All year the line between inside
and out has been hard to cross
but spring opens the gate.
I hear the sun calling. I hear
the magnolia tree down the block
calling. I go to the tree. I go
to the grocery store for coconut
I Left My House Today ice cream.
I think I see an ex waiting
in the line outside when I leave
but she has a mask on and last
I heard lived in another city.
I don’t want her to see me
because I don’t want to go back
to being the person I was
when she loved me. I want
to keep who I am now
despite my deep exhaustion.
Time reinvents itself so often
I forget I’ve always lived
in this body, on this planet. Inside,
I fantasize about going back
to the patio chairs in the middle
of the still-sunlit street and calling
Libby, but after climbing the stairs
to our apartment’s front door
I need the couch to hold me up.
I’m so used to shedding
my ambitions that it almost looks
graceful when I do it now. In all
my daydreams I have the energy
to call my friends. Rest my body
in a river of their voices.

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This poem appeared in Sick Magazine, Issue 4, 2022.

ABOUT KYLA JAMIESON

Kyla is a poet, editor, and educator. She was the 2024 Writer in Residence at the Vancouver Public Library and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Her poetry, essays, and interviews have appeared in ARC Poetry, ELLE Canada, CV2, Poetry is Not a Luxury, The Account, Peach Mag, and elsewhere. Her research and writing have been supported by the BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and Banff Centre. She served as the Poetry & Prose Editor for… (more)