What is this thing called pain?

But what is this thing called pain?

I feel the familiar stabbing in my hip

Boy, it shocks

I do attest

I alone feel it, however

So, dear reader, is pain real if not shared?

Ah, now I see someone who no longer knows

Me

Understand me, did she ever

Really? Too late to ask

Dear reader, forgive, for she is old

Each time, I am told. Can such words bring on pain?

Recall, I ask you now

Evil, deliberate by that man (no, not that one)

Reflect, dear reader, on penance

And if it some point, if he asks for it

Remember first the crying mother

Remember second her dead child

Erased by him

Simply because of where it came from

Think about what to say to her, not him

How do we know this thing called pain?

Is it most acutely felt in the head, the soul or the heart?

My answer is no better than yours