(The joint “I” and “you” of any relationship–even societal.)

I ache

Knowing

You hurt.

Inflamed

Connective tissue

Limits

The ability

To move

Or be moved.

Feeling Inflexible,

Even rigid,

No longer

Able to 

Support

The unbearable

Load,

Desperate

For remedying,

Pain becomes

All encompassing—

Now constraining

And depleting

Capacity,

Fueling

Bitterness.

They say 

That pain

Is inevitable

But suffering

Is a choice.

Among

Your strengths

Is your

Capacity

For learning,

Allowing

New possibility

To take 

Hold.

What is this pain

Teaching?

What happens

To us when

We become

Oppressed

By agony;

Stuck under

The weight

That is 

Too much?

What kind 

Of school

Is this?

Our muscles

Memorize

Habits,

But let us know when

We have 

Overused

Or become

Out of alignment.

Maybe we can

Just observe

Right now

And acknowledge

The fact 

Of the strain.

Maybe we 

Just get

To learn

Our tendencies

And capacities;

Our habits

That may no longer

Serve to strengthen

Us.