Topic Tags:
0 Comments

Tanka about Pain

Andrew Lansdown

Dec 31 2010

1 mins

 1. Chronic Pain

Stupid, really,

to say it, given the pain

must be and is …

Yet I feel compelled to cry

one more time: Unbearable!

2. Killers

Once again pain

has conquered my pain-killers.

So many down!

I send reinforcements, hardly

caring if they kill … pain or me.

3. Giving Comfort

In lovingkindness

my friend calls to ask after

the state of my pain.

And to comfort him I say,

“It’s not quite so bad today.”

4. Ambitions

Waking, I wonder

when the day will be over.

Oh, living with pain 

has reduced my ambitions

to just … living without pain.

 
Comments

Join the Coversation

Already a member?

What to read next

  • Letters: Authentic Art and the Disgrace of Wilgie Mia

    Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.

    Aug 29 2024

    6 mins

  • Aboriginal Culture is Young, Not Ancient

    To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case

    Aug 20 2024

    23 mins

  • Pennies for the Shark

    A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten

    Aug 16 2024

    2 mins