Pain is lasting
Memories unforgotten, relived, cherished, held
Visions of yesterday, last Tuesday, the brawl in the schoolyard
Forty years ago

Pain is forever
Thoughts cling to sensations, sensations to thoughts
Twin siblings, knowing intimately the shared songs
Of life

Pain is existence
Contrastor of goodness, of joy, of pleasure
Black waves crashing on the rocks
Each starless night

Pain is purveyor
Carrying the memories, the fears, the lessons
Her teachings, the sole way of persistence
Of thought, of perception, of life