Sharp
Knife
Cut
Skin
Pain
Wound
Bleed
Blood
Red
Blunt
Knife
Spread
Butter
Melts
Warm
Toast
Tasty
Breakfast
Pain or Pleasure?
Category: pain
Time flies when you are having fun but slows down when you are sad
Instagram followers hide your lack of real friends
Texts with thumbs up and Facebook likes
Give the impression you are always happy
Saving you from actually speaking
Lest your voice becomes an unwitting informer
Dark sunglasses hide your sad eyes
You only take them off in the dark
A fake smile masks your depression
Your face aches from forcing it all day
Blacked out windows in your Cadillac
Prevent the world from seeing the real you inside
Your trophy wife paraded in public
She plays the part well when seen
Becoming cold as ice when alone with you
She talks to her friends all day
Never makes eye contact with you
You chose a childless relationship
Too risky having anybody that close to you
Expensive home and flashy toys
A thick wallet full of credit cards
Combine to hide your mounting debts
Long hours and grinding out results
Disguise your real dissatisfaction with your job
You stopped talking to your parents long ago
Tired of them asking what is wrong with you
You hang out with the boys every week
Mostly to be seen doing guy things
Watching sports and talking trash
Downing beers for an alcoholic buzz
Your sad thoughts briefly anesthetized
Laughing outwardly at all the stupid jokes
While crying uncontrollably inside
You wished it was all a bad dream
But its there every time you wake up
You pray for the day when it will all change
You wait for guidance of a new direction
You hope for the strength to adjust
You are constantly looking for the signal
The escape
He desperately wanted to feel better
Lose the hurt anger and hate
Go back to normal times
But his feelings were unshakable
Clinging to him with a vice like grip
They had taken over his body
An unwelcome invading army
Living inside him like a parasite
Dictating his thoughts
Leaving him powerless
He was just a passenger
On a runaway emotional train
Too dangerous to jump off
Equally afraid of the inevitable crash
He went into the bathroom
Splashing cool water on his face
It felt soothing
As he spread his fingers slightly apart
He caught sight of a reflected prisoner
Peering through the bars of his hands
His desperate eyes begging for release
As the mocking guards jeered
He seized the opportunity
Punching the mirror hard with his right fist
It shattered instantly but stayed on the wall
He followed through with a second punch
His left hand aimed at the largest slivers
More punches followed
The mirror was destroyed
Replaced by blood stains on the wall
The bars were no longer to be seen
The prisoner was long gone
The occupying emotional army drained from him
As his blood dripped from a thousand cuts
He quickly wrapped his hands in a towel
The price for freedom was high
He knew he would survive
His captors were no longer chasing him
One day of battle won
Early morning silence shrouded in darkness
She lays in bed after a short unsettling sleep
Her mind acutely aware of the pains of old age
Limbs ache and stiff joints resist motion
Her mind tells her to ignore the pain
She tries to remain totally still and avoid any muscle movement
Shunning her medication as it slows down her thoughts
Its an ongoing war with daily battles
Sometimes those battles are lost and she swallows the pills
Today the pillbox sits untouched on the nightstand
She reaches out to the left side in the bed
Feeling the empty space once occupied by her recently departed husband
Her heart aches at the memory of his loss
There is no medication prescribed for such pain
She lingers a while conjuring up images of their life together
Long walks holding hands
Romantic dinners together
Bringing up a family
Smiling faces on vacations
Playing with their grandchildren
Before he was suddenly taken away after a short illness
Her hands scream in pain as she clutches the empty bedsheets
A long glance at the pills starts a fierce debate
Another day of pain or medically induced numbness
Why not take the whole box of pills she pondered
It would put and end to these constant battles
She reached out to grab he pill bottle
Recoiling sharply as she heard a voice yell no don’t do it
It was her husband no mistake
She put the light on replied where are you?
There was nobody else in the room
She sighed and reached again for the pill bottle
Please don’t take the pills he screamed
OK honey she answered knowing he was watching over her
Reaching out to smooth the wrinkled sheets on her husband’s side of the bed
Her arthritic fingers resisted but she overcame the pain
I promise not to swallow the whole bottle of pills she said softly
She never went near the pill bottle for the rest of that day
One day of battle won
Pulling back the sheets at bedtime
Her husband’s side of the bed was already wrinkled
Cheeky Monkey Poetry 