It is not the body pain destroys
Elliott batTzedek

The pain that waits, crouching
around every corner, the pain
you once tried to fool by living
in a round house, the pain that comes
from no one place, that was waiting for you
inside you, when you were born

this is the pain that destroys you

Not your body

You

When it lunges, ensnarls you,
throws the rancid black hood over your head

you are done for

And you know it

But your body goes on, it drags you to the toilet
to the kitchen, to the door to let out the dog,
to the truck, to your mother’s, its mouth says
“It’s not a good day, but I’ll be okay”, its leg will carry
a bruise from the bench in the garage

which, when the pain retreats, you will discover
and wonder at, another incident, another fact,
another day rendered from you