On the Mend ... poem by Anne Selden Annab

Surgery sometimes makes scar tissue
that grows nerves and ties tight knots
of pain... persistent pain... nervous pain...
adhesions-potentially debilitating pain
if you do too much- and eventually
all the time.

Persistent pain makes breath shallow
thoughts short - restructures
the world in ways
the young and healthy
can't fathom...

In childbirth pain is of beginnings
a climb the mountain feat
on familiar paths...
exhausting but exhilarating-
a known process of crescendo
and then a quick conclusion
that arrives (more often than not)
bringing personal happiness for many years
to come- for generations a life time to love
and be loved... And in loving one's child
often a much better understanding
of one's own parents (and grandparents)
and marriage... and time.

Cherish what you can, while you can.

Both the process of birth
and the process of death
are totally messy... obscenely so- but both
are also scrubbed totally clean by most
in memory, to echo the inherent dignity
and charm of the child.

But persistent pain
persistent pain
has no known path
no destination
and little mess
beyond the clutter
one can't sort
and the cleaning
one can't do.

Persistent pain
exhausts.
But it also prioritizes
makes more precious
what one can do.
Offers a person
the freedom to chose carefully
what really matters....

poem & photo copyright ©2011 Anne Selden Annab