Living with pain can be hard but beneficial,
Say people.
People can be utter strangers on a marketing spree
To win new followers,
Or friends loving you, yet under the spell
Of their new gurus.
In the case of friends, I know I can trust
Their love and devotion, their sincere desire
To rescue, support and dance the victory tango
With me.
Yet, how I see my pain is hard to define or describe
In terms of general knowledge
Or in the trend of new age spiritual thinking.
Let’s be who and what we are
No matter what, or when, or where.
Let’s raise our glasses high
Believing tomorrow will anyway provide.
© 2026, MaryK
This poem is written after the beautiful and rather difficult prompt of Poets and Writers United – Friday Writings #247: Reframing Negative Concepts. It was a challenging one for me, and before writing it, I read the takes of other poets and writers who had shared their works with the hope to get inspired. And I did get inspired. So, if you are wondering how to tackle the prompt, or the issue, go on and read them.
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A thoughtful reflection on friendship, pain, and being true to ourselves. I loved the hopeful ending.
Thank you very much Marja
Let’s be who and what we are
The most difficult role is probably being who we are… most people are so busy being someone else
I am glad you have friends to dance with and support you and I love your closing thoughts – best wishes – Jae
I have never lived long with pain, but I’ve known people who have had to deal with constant pain (starting with my own father). A challenge indeed, to find the positives in life despite that – and yet, I’ve seen them do it, over and over again. But that seems to be ‘despite’ rather than reframing the actual experience. The actual lessons of pain are hard, I think – patience, endurance, etc. I hope it may also be that pain is something which initially draws to you those who become dear friends; that could be a more joyous positive.
Agree with what you have said. Our pain is unique and subjective to us and need not be reduced to something objective like a definition!
Your pain is unique to you and cannot be reduced to something objective like a definition 🙂 in agree completely
Everyone has a remedy to sell us. Nice write Mary ?