where they have to cut
you open to stop it.
The kind that's chronically
acute. That throbs as if
a sluggish drill bit turns
down in there.
Such pain takes you out
of your life. You sit
in a cold room with your pain,
which may wear a light shawl
of morphine. You two
get to know each other better.
The narrative of your life
dries up, falls apart. You
ask the pain if there's
anything left to life now,
and Pain says, "No, not really."
hans ostrom 2022
