Debra Johnston; all rights reserved
I
fought the pain as long as I could
To remain the axis of the world,
The self-made illusion around which all revolves.
Not knowing the beauty of every beggar
The glory of every wrinkled face
The courage of everyone in pain
I was blind and deaf to what is
Unable to escape the self-made prison
Of my own impoverished reality
Till pain came as a gift
And you came as a friend ...