Pain

More of a mirror than any friend could be,
More than a compass consulted amidst a sea,
Is pain of the body or of the mind.
It’s all very well when your kisses meet the breeze,
When the summer mood mellows you into wine,
And you pour for your friends, and cheerful, dine.
It’s easy to drown in the flight of a bird
When the lake is unruffled, undisturbed,
But whatever peace there is, whatever bird’s leap
Will be something heaven itself deems cheap.
Kindness and warmth are easy when all’s well,
But pain’s distortions are the perfect bell,
Calling attention to pettiness or scar,
To all the spirit’s prison bars and star.
Pain tells you whether spirit slumps, if it glides.
Pain reveals the character that comfort hides.

Share: