The Other Side of Pain

On the other side of pain
We have fried eggs
And good poetry
And long anecdotes
And misplaced apologies
And Saturn rings
And dog collars
And blue buckles
And tan pants
And arugula

On the other side of pain
We paint fences
And dance waltzes
And tread lightly
And speak softly
And cry sonnets
And sing sweat
And sculpt water
And forget everything

On the other side of pain
There is hindsight
And insight
And bright sight
And night lights
And nightmares
And flash floods
And head games
And good dreams
And bad decisions

On the other side of pain
There are petting zoos
And llama farms
And houses that have board game nights
And families decorating Christmas trees
And scrapbooking grandmas
And barbecuing every Sunday

On the other side of pain
Are black and white photographs
And polyester disco suits
And dynamite boxes packed up in the garage
And a fake totem pole bought on the way to the Grand Canyon
And a guy named Mike who happens to be a really nice guy

On the other side of pain
There are dump trucks
The toy kind
And the real kind
And aside from size
How would one know the difference?

On the other side of pain
Is a quote from a book
Stole and sealed
In something that resembles
A half-decent poem

On the other side of pain
There is a morning
Overflowing

With
Forgiveness

And a bruise
And a wound
And a cut
And a scrape
And a deep deep deep hurt

That can now
Begin

To heal