An empty page is better

than an empty heart

or head.

So an unkind word

unspoken

is better

than one

said.

But what of words of

truth and beauty,

that wax recalcitrant?

No matter how you reason,

re-arrange,

or  coax.

they remain instead entrenched.

(Like some way back, aching tooth,

and you’re the fumbling dentist Shemp.)

With unrelenting effort at last

by skill and raw will

and a triumphant yell you extract. . .

the wrong one!

Shall we have another go?

After all, what’s one molar more?

No thank you sir, I’m out of here

it’s painful, and besides

those are my teeth  upon the floor!

Patience!

Patience?

It’s time I see

to drop the metaphor.

All right.

Give it another try;

the greater pain to bear

is to see those empty pages stare

into my mind’s aching eye.

Not that you should care

except you do

the way we do

when these trials we share.

Emotions.

Thoughts.

Reasonings.

Whether separated

by a mile,

a mountain,

or an ocean

we are together

when these trials we share.

These empty pages

are some of mine;

I am thankful

they are small.

 

Even as

I am mindful of

a world full of

suffering

and my complaints are

silent.

 

 

So I  wonder

as we stumble

over our own empty pages.

We fall

and rise

and fall again.

Alone

and yet

Together.