Above All Aches
by

A car wheel crushed the leg
of a family
on a monsoon evening.
His spouse and son seemed
strings broken.
But the accident couldn’t
mute his vocal cords. Words
live in lines,
and lines in voice – words
and voice defeat his wounds.
Her scarlet
smile sprouts again. Fresh
shoots appear in the farm of
songs. His
Adam’s apple rises and falls
above a pair of crutches in the
limelight on
the stage. Rows of heads
vibrate in his sweet voice
flowing over
the hard stones of agony.
His suppressed ache doesn’t
annoy their
vicarious joys. Pleasure
grows out of pain. Enjoyment
and existence are
the two sides of his song.

First published in The Literary Hatchet, issue #14 by Pear Tree Press, US

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