A series of poems about my moods as I lose my central vision from cone dystrophy, using my ring scotoma (my blind spot) and the Amsler grid as form. To see the individual poems and read more about them, click on each image below. To read more about the process of creating these mood rings visit Mood Rings Explained. To learn more about my sources, visit Mood Ring project, Resources. Finally, to read the entire chapbook, click the READ button.
How to Find
a blind spot in your central vision when you have cone dystrophy: Stand. Stare. Wait.
Stand a foot away from a blank wall in a well lit room. Close your left eye and look straight ahead with your right or close your right eye and look straight ahead with your left. Stare into the center until a dark ring begins to appear.
What to Do
with a blind ring when you have cone dystrophy: Return. Stare until you believe. Repeat.
Go back to the wall. Stand a foot from it with one eye closed and one eye open. Stare at a spot in the center and wait for your ring scotoma to appear. Look at the ring until you see it even when you are not staring at that spot on the wall, until the fact of your deteriorating vision remains real. When the ring and your faith fades, return to the wall as often as necessary.
What Else to Do
with a blind ring when you have cone dystrophy: Tape. Trace. Experiment.
Tape a piece of paper to the wall at eye level then stare at the center of it. When your blind spot appears on the paper, trace it with a pencil. Experiment with the ring you traced. Make it the shape of a concrete poem. Use it to conceal words in an erasure poem. Cut it out, look at it, then through it at your words, the world. Turn it into a series of poems about how you feel as you live through the process of losing your central vision.
