PAIN

I can smile when I am in pain

I can’t laugh; not even feign

Pain is a temporary feeling,

It’s nothing but a transitioning,

From a mental state of stasis

To one of instant catharsis.

What’s a lover’s pain?

But a feeling someone can’t contain.

Pain is eternal, it has no limit

I can’t ever recall being without it

When I was an errant fool in school

Even in my flighty youth trying to be cool.

Pain devastates, leaves our life in shambles

As I grow old and as my defence crumbles

I wonder, “Was there a day that went by,

Without the pain that we endure nightly

Be it in a hospital’s operating table

Or, in pursuit of this literary dream, so noble?”

I can smile when I am in pain

But I can’t laugh; not even feign.

Dust

Dust I must, but I can’t leave it to rest

Despondent dust: it's your flaky feel I detest

They hang in cobwebs, in corners, and book cases

Little nooks, crannies, and unsuspecting places.

I get tired of this dusting and say, “oh well,”

Uninvited guests, please spare my clothes if you will

Go hang somewhere but not on my wall

If I find you someplace I'd sweep till you fall.

Dust I must, because I am allergic

Even if, perchance, it'd make me neurotic

Oh! Leave my books alone, I have just dusted them

What use are dust jackets? Thickly coated their spines become?

Up here, up there, this dust tires me, oh, they kill

Dusting all the time, agreed, is a matter of skill

Watch me do it with a duster and broom in hand

Till my house is clean; able for next the onslaught to withstand.