A Poem About Change

Pain,
stronger than hope,
well within the scope
of eternity.

Never ending,
always bending
my mind into the
shape of anger.

Going insane with
lack, but
when I look back
it’s all just pain.

The kind you
welcome just the same,
hoping it sizes you up
enough to
change your ways.

I know why
you stayed away
when I needed you most.

So, go ahead,
boast about how you
taught me and
brought me to
the divide between
feel and think.

You expected
calm and quiet, but
inside me roared the
riotous din of
lessons unremembered—
the ones that never
took hold.

Maybe you thought
pain was the means.
That if only I’d hurt
enough—then
I’d change.

©2022 Steven Barto