Story Thank you, my right hand (poem)

[LoiteringClouds]

I have an unusual obsession with handedness.

I was right-handed when I was young child, but when I was 9, my crush in school was left-handed, and my obsession started. I practiced in writing with my left hand, and started to pretend to be left-handed.

I no longer pretend to be born left-handed, because the story about my childhood crush is funnier. But I still use my left hand for most of tasks. He's still part of me.

I still think like a 10-year-old kid, so I thought my right hand might be sad. It's time to make it right...

---

(I wrote this with my right hand.)

Hello my dear right arm and hand,
I'm sorry for what I've done to you.
I have favored my left hand over you -
You might have felt like you had been canned!

When I was nine, I took away your pen,
And I preferred my left hand since then.
I thought being left-handed was cool,
So it gave me confidence in school.

I treated you just like a side dish -
I denied you a pen you did wish.
I even cut you with sharp blades -
You had a lot of scars and Band-Aids.

And now, I think it's time to repent.
Though it will not bring back the time spent,
And against me, you might hold a grudge -
I'm so grateful to you, who don't smudge!

You get back and wield your mighty pen -
I swear, you'll never lose it again!

Lots of love, LoiteringClouds February 4, 2024.

---

I cut my right arm when I self-harmed. Self-harm might not be a healthy coping method, but it enabled me to survive the hardest time in my life.

Thank you, my right arm and hand - you've borne wounds and saved my life.

 

[carac]

Very fascinating, I've been mostly right handed all my life, I did try a while ago writing with my left hand because I heard do something like that can help prevent dementia. I say mostly because I was born ambidextrous but I chose the right to write with and that became my dominant hand but whenever I did something like sport I would hold the racket with my leftt hand until I worked myself out of it.

 

[hikikomorizombie]

:o so are u ambidextrous?? i was born left handed but my Jehovah's Witness grandmother forced me to learn how to write w my right, bc being a lefty was a 'mark of the Devil'. lol. i'm not ambidextrous though unfortunately :// & i think my handwriting sucks bc i don't write w the hand i was supposed to.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I love your thinking! I've always found left handed writers fascinating to watch, although I never tried to immitate them. Even my right handed scrawl isn't that nice.

I get what you mean about abandonment and betrayal though. I can feel that way about tools! Absolutely ridiculous I know but once, I borrowed someone's drill and it was so much better than mine. I felt like I'd been unfaithful! But- it did convert me to that brand once my drill died. (Perhaps of a broken heart... poor thing. It did its best, I know.)

 

[ijustwishtodie]

Never did I think that I would be intrigued over a poem regarding the right hand. This is really nice

 

[Kit1]

I have an unusual obsession with handedness.

I was right-handed when I was young child, but when I was 9, my crush in school was left-handed, and my obsession started. I practiced in writing with my left hand, and started to pretend to be left-handed.

I no longer pretend to be born left-handed, because the story about my childhood crush is funnier. But I still use my left hand for most of tasks. He's still part of me.

I still think like a 10-year-old kid, so I thought my right hand might be sad. It's time to make it right...

---

View attachment 128143
(I wrote this with my right hand.)

Hello my dear right arm and hand,
I'm sorry for what I've done to you.
I have favored my left hand over you -
You might have felt like you had been canned!

When I was nine, I took away your pen,
And I preferred my left hand since then.
I thought being left-handed was cool,
So it gave me confidence in school.

I treated you just like a side dish -
I denied you a pen you did wish.
I even cut you with sharp blades -
You had a lot of scars and Band-Aids.

And now, I think it's time to repent.
Though it will not bring back the time spent,
And against me, you might hold a grudge -
I'm so grateful to you, who don't smudge!

You get back and wield your mighty pen -
I swear, you'll never lose it again!

Lots of love, LoiteringClouds February 4, 2024.

---

I cut my right arm when I self-harmed. Self-harm might not be a healthy coping method, but it enabled me to survive the hardest time in my life.

Thank you, my right arm and hand - you've borne wounds and saved my life.

Dear LoiteringClouds,

Absolutely loved your poem and I cannot believe that a poem about the hand that you wrote with could contain so much pain, truth, reflection and much more. Clearly you are a poetic person (well to me you are as I am not creative at all and admire people who are creative) - do you and have you considered writting as therapeutic? Also you talked about the self harming and sometimes self harming is therapeutic if that is what keeps us alive..,

Thank you for sharing the poem and for being kind to your right hand as well.., Shows that you are a sensitive and gentle person which is lovely.

 

[LoiteringClouds]

Hello all,

Thank you so much for your kind words! I've never expected to receive such heartwarming replies!

Very fascinating, I've been mostly right handed all my life, I did try a while ago writing with my left hand because I heard do something like that can help prevent dementia. I say mostly because I was born ambidextrous but I chose the right to write with and that became my dominant hand but whenever I did something like sport I would hold the racket with my leftt hand until I worked myself out of it.

I hope I won't get dementia then ;)
I think holding the racket with your left hand is okay, but some tools, like scissors and utility knives, are designed to be used with the right hand. Do you use these tools with your right hand?

:o so are u ambidextrous?? i was born left handed but my Jehovah's Witness grandmother forced me to learn how to write w my right, bc being a lefty was a 'mark of the Devil'. lol. i'm not ambidextrous though unfortunately :// & i think my handwriting sucks bc i don't write w the hand i was supposed to.

I'm almost ambidextrous, but strictly speaking, I'm mixed-handed, which means I prefer my left hand for some tasks and the right for others.
I'm so sorry for your experience. I also hold a pen and chopsticks with my right hand in front of my parents because they told me stop using my left hand when I was 9.

I love your thinking! I've always found left handed writers fascinating to watch, although I never tried to immitate them. Even my right handed scrawl isn't that nice.

I get what you mean about abandonment and betrayal though. I can feel that way about tools! Absolutely ridiculous I know but once, I borrowed someone's drill and it was so much better than mine. I felt like I'd been unfaithful! But- it did convert me to that brand once my drill died. (Perhaps of a broken heart... poor thing. It did its best, I know.)

Thank you!
I have several fountain pens, but some of them are just sitting in the drawer. I feel sorry for them...

Never did I think that I would be intrigued over a poem regarding the right hand. This is really nice

Thank you

Dear LoiteringClouds,

Absolutely loved your poem and I cannot believe that a poem about the hand that you wrote with could contain so much pain, truth, reflection and much more. Clearly you are a poetic person (well to me you are as I am not creative at all and admire people who are creative) - do you and have you considered writting as therapeutic? Also you talked about the self harming and sometimes self harming is therapeutic if that is what keeps us alive..,

Thank you for sharing the poem and for being kind to your right hand as well.., Shows that you are a sensitive and gentle person which is lovely.

Thank you
I think writing poems is very therapeutic, and healthy ;)

I'd never judge people who self-harm, as I was one of them, but now I feel sorry for my right arm, so I think I'll never cut my right arm again.

 

[carac]

I hope I won't get dementia then ;)
I think holding the racket with your left hand is okay, but some tools, like scissors and utility knives, are designed to be used with the right hand. Do you use these tools with your right hand?

Basically when I was born I was told I would swap beteen the two. Then when I started wirting at school, I guess at about 5 I started using my right hand, so that became my dominant hand for most things like holding a tool and mouse or anything. Except as I said in sport I would play things like cricket and tennis left handed, then when I was about 13 I started play field hockey and they only make right handed sticks (although it is possible to play left handed) so I just fully switched to right handed as far as I recall.
I do have some things left over though that I don't really notice, like I hold my knife and fork the other way around to most right handed people and If I wear a watch I put it on my right wrist when it is supposed to be on your non dominant hand.

 

[rozeske]

Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem with us and the story behind it. You have a gift and an amazing artistic side. I have always found left handed people fascinating. I hope your childhood crush is doing much better than us somewhere out there.

P.s. you have a beautiful handwriting and love the cool pen