Towards A Pain-Free World Poem by Frank Bana

Tylenol claim to be offering
A convenient tablet for headaches, to chew
When you're on the road or the run. It's called
'One small step towards a pain-free world'.

For this, I'll give them thanks and feedback
For J&J and their corporate friends
On how to get stepping to a pain-free world
One big stone at a time. I'll say:

You could heighten your fight on malaria
Raise your donations for mothers with AIDS
Work with allies against poor sanitation
That torments kids with deadly disease

Another big step: a campaign to respect
International laws against military games
That lead to the kind of headaches that leave
Children orphaned and maimed - in lifelong pain

I'll propose further paths to that painless world:
The foreswearing of torture in every jail
Abjuring of mines, cluster bombs, use of lies
As tools of terror and social control.

Yes, there's much that we and the Johnsons could do
Even if our strides are timid at first
I'll carry their tablets, next time I'm let out -
Now let's start treating the pain in our hearts.