Onychophagia
Is being included in the American Psychiatric Association’s
Classification of obsessive compulsive disorder
I used to be so afflicted
Nibbling and nipping
Surreptitiously sculpting digit ends
But never to the point of clinical severity
Bitter polish never worked
Admonitions merely deafened my ears
It took tranquility and a change in lifestyle
Didn’t even think about it
Until one day I noticed I had ten nails
Unchewed and growing on my fingertips
Since then I have encountered the disappointment of snags
Pain of a broken nail
And the need for a good emery board
To keep these tappers tapping
Smoothly
David Trudel © 2012
