Everything hurts.
You awake and time
pushes down on your chest
and the light outside blinds.
There is no way out and
you have no choice but to get up
and go through it
– the hurt.
Everything hurts.
The walk down the stairs.
The thought of the afternoon.
The weight of gravity.
The emptiness of the sky.
Each spoonful of cereal.
Each sup of coffee.
Every breath, every heartbeat.
Everything hurts.
You can’t tell anyone about it.
That hurts more.
Besides,
you don’t know exactly what it is
that hurts.
You only know it hurts.
Everything hurts.
The news
not getting any news.
The slow gnaw of microbes
enjoying your skin.
The sun, oh definitely the sun
that thought of always
not being
but also being too.
Everything hurts.
Getting dressed, getting ahead
getting head, getting a dress
having lunch – the necessity of it all.
Having stuff – the chance you swim in
the wind on your skin
the sound of distant laughter ……
Everything hurts.
There is no respite.
No water breaks.
Alcohol, sex, pills, rock n’ roll
They only make it hurt more.
Everything hurts.
You roll on, on, on,
up that hill
but the top never comes.
And it keeps hurting, hurting.
It will keep hurting, hurting.
There is no end to it.
Nothing, not even drugs,
religion, sex or
the thought of death
can dial it down.
There is no kill switch.
There is no way out or off.
Everything hurts.
