…I want to scream, for screaming makes the pain seem less acute

for the briefest of moments and in the end brief respite can surely only be noble.

I should buckle under the weight of it all and prepare my coffin suit

and place my emotional trust in the fall out quality of Chernobyl.

You have been the most faithful of companions, conspiring harridan.

Never wavering in your ability to astound and fuck me over, friend

time and time again, if personified, you would make the most evil of men

as you drill and puncture my spine, driving me insane, penetrating to the bitter, bullish end.

I dislike you. Physically you repel me to the point of exhaustion,

yet I acknowledge you for what you are, the driving force that makes me smile

sweeter and hopefully treat some with courteous respect and ever good thought

as you push me ever harder, both my hands tied tightly, closer to extinction.

I sometimes have to let myself down, for I cannot keep up with the relentless body spewing bile

as I entreat you my dearly beloved pain like a medieval consort.

Ian D. Hall 2015.