There are Times

 

 

There are times when my side aches

as my ribs go in and out in reaction

to what someone has said. My smile bursts

with concavity and I show plenty of teeth.

 

Other times I react to what someone says that

is so outlandish that my face looks the same

but with a touch of irony in my eyes and only

the normal in and out of breathes to mark my sides.

 

In both cases my eyes may fill with tears.

I feel good in the first case and pain in the other.

 

How can such opposites have such similar reactions?

 

Maybe there are just so many reactions and we have to dole them out.

When we’re out of anything new, recycle the old.

 

How I feel depends if I’m happy or sad, elated or mad.

 

So maybe we should stop this nonsense and just be stoic.