edgy pain

(for Noelle)

now? well, ache is a good term -
still aching inside,
why? distance, absence, hurts, loneliness,
facing up to these, and the aching for
what can't be faced up to.
yet, moments of solace transpire,
last night i opened the package that
held the book, your book, and then
i turned the light out, walked over
and lay down on the bed in near total
darkness, i held the book and all the words
to my chest, in the dark
wondering what dreams within,
what exorcisms might await,
what wisdom wants to speak,
what tears to be shared,
what shame to expose,
what hurts to let go,
i let it flow over me and through into
my heart, enfolded in darkness, only the nightlight
of the alarm clock face nearby in an otherwise blackened room
and those words clutched tightly to me
then turning on the lamp,
i began to read...

all the little hurts

a slight by a friend,
a grandparent dies,
a dent in a van door,
a bump at a street corner,
a parent dies,
a sprinkler is stepped on and broken carelessly,
a hot iron falls on nylon carpet leaves it's footprint,
a thousand little sticks, for blood sugar, blood counts, levels of all sorts
a word misspoken by a spouse,
a bump on the head from a car hatch,
a bony mass requiring radiation,
a church friend complains,
a doctor takes power to serve his ego,
a misguided lecture,
a faucet drips,
a pet dies young,
a job left behind,
a holiday with family,
a death too soon,


there are times when all the little hurts still hurt
this post in wordle format