These are linked poems created week by week for a year, inspired by the book No Choice But To Follow, and the poets therein who did it first.

Sunday 24 August 2014

August #3

Living through the pain

My compatriot urged his dad
to rage against the dying of the light
but my rage is against pain
and blood and tears and sweat
and hope getting stomped
when it peeps its little
chocolate-buttony bright eyes
over the top of the trench
where it very wisely hid
until optimism once more
triumphed over experience.

I watch you living through the pain
and I try to find something positive
in your brave, dogged fight
and I love you for your strength,
your weakness, your quirks,
your failings, your heart
but I cannot find anything positive
that wasn't already a part of you
before the adversary arrived
and this torment began.

I want to scoop you up
in my arms and hold you
until the danger passes
but you see it never does.
That bloody enemy stalks
us all the time and never sleeps
and even if I doze with one eye
open it still sneaks in because
nobody can win against it every time
and it only needs to win once.

— Michele Brenton

5 comments:

  1. Wow! Yes this is very powerful and explains the journey suffering takes us on.

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  2. Wonderful - aching and yet sweetly loving poem with a simply killer last line

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  3. Heartbreaking words. The last stanza really packs a punch.

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  4. Michele, this is such a strong, poignant poem...it rings with authenticity and pain in every word; terrific work.

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