Another Sense

Pain is the Other Sense.
The nerves for pain
Are everywhere,
Running brainward
Just as visual and auditory 
Neurons do.
Just as the nose and tongue
Sample and send
And the skin reads touch messages,
So the pain nerve ends
Send alarms--
Always alarms--
From inside and out.
"Help!   Get help!" they signal.

       No More War

        The usual five
        Paint the world for us:
        Fluttery colors
        And bursts of vivid light;
        Purple sounds
        And feathery wind caresses;
        Sweet perfumes
        That tempt our appetite.
        They show a knowable world
        Out beyond us.


But pain!
Knowing pain goes beyond
Self-preservation.
Only by embracing pain
Can we feel the hurt
Of the cowering child in the corner.
Only through our own pain
Is empathy
For the crooked man
Nourished.
Only with personal pain
Do we bond with the dying
And know our fate.

April 18, 2003