Pain And Perception Poem by Gary Witt

We are none of us strong as we think
Nor weak as we seem or might soon be;
We walk along this wet, pebbled shore
Yearning for a noble tide to sweep us out
And quickly change our circumstance,
Erasing regrets that loom toward tomorrow,
Buoying up hopes long unfulfilled
Even as our feet slide subtly beneath the brine.

We are none of us weak as we want
Nor strong as we were just yesterday.
But we hear the gulls that screech and cry,
And imagine they shed tears for us.
Our awed perception once held smiles
To prop up heaven like a row of columns
Carved of alabaster and pink marble.
But now our eyes paint with numbing stares,
And sadness is hauled wincing from the car,
Up the driveway, into a glare
That lights without illuminating,
Frightens plainly, simply, constantly.
A needle piercing our gums
Calmly anesthetizes or else
Ineptly breaks off, radiating panic.
We are none of us strong as we need be
Nor weak as we hope to seem.

Strong as we were, weak as we might soon be,
Shall the words surprise us when they leap forth
From mired minds, knotted throats,
And we hear ourselves negotiating
With the heaven we used to prop up?
What will we offer, how will we plead?
What enticement, what standard of exchange
To pull us out and change our circumstance,
Erasing regrets that loom toward tomorrow,
Buoying up hopes long unfulfilled.

We are none of us weak as once we were
Nor strong as once we thought ourselves.
But our perception, bogged in self-pity above its hubs
Spins us deeper, wrapping our fears
In a moist tangle around the axle.
So with guttural clunk and untutored grinding,
Our impulsive reverse winds them now tighter,
Compounding their grip,
As we settle and sink further into the warm comfort
Of two or three minutes ago, prior to despair,
When we thought, or perhaps only dreamt,
That we had the moment firmly in our grasp,
With just enough traction to pull us through.
No, we are none of us strong as we need be
Nor weak as we want to appear.