O Pain!

You reduced me to tears

Demanding that all my attention

Be devoted to you.

You seemed punishing…

Cruel and senseless

I thought of all the things

That needed me

To be in perfect health…

And how your grip

Was so disabling.

I tried to subjugate you

With every antidote

I cajoled you…

I subjected you

To a stubborn resistance

I tried to conquer you

And then I dropped.

And when I dropped

I felt you…

Suddenly grateful

That I could feel at all

I heard the soft whispers of the rain

Felt the wind

Cool the sweat on my brow

And saw the light of day

Gleam on my floor.

O Pain!

You recalibrated my life

Reminded me

What in essence mattered

You taught me

That in truth

To be able to feel

Is my only freedom

And my only responsibility

What I refuse to feel

Grows within me as pain.