PAIN POEM


Pain carves my face like a pumpkin, a toothless rictus to frighten children.
Pain corrodes my day, drills deep into my psyche, shattering emotions

Bone scrapes on bone
Nerves scoured raw misfire
Muscles clench and spasm
My body is a prison

Pain trumps all else


Every night pain claims me for its bedfellow, a sadist making himself at home.
Wrapping arms of barbed wire around my torso, pain drags me down

Breathing fire on my neck
Splintering vain resistance
Shredding my sleep
No respite anywhere

Pain trumps all else


On the other hand I witness Sister Meg, silent tears streaming down her face,
Transfigured, offering her suffering as a joyful sacrifice.

Glorified, accepting pain
Clutching her rosary beads
Seeking only God’s will
No energy wasted

For Sister Meg pain does not trump God.


As for me pain remains a bully, a tyrant, a thief stealing my patience
A ravenous beast, pain devours my will and flays my soul

I bitch, moan, whine, and complain.
I resist. I fight. I medicate.
My agnostic self suffers
But not in vain

My poem trumps pain