No, I will not have my feelings removed <br />for my pain is me <br />and life is misery <br />and joy is but a momentary reprieve. <br /> <br />I will not have my feelings removed <br />though my tears block my nose <br />and my head thunders <br />and my limbs are withered; <br />though I put my fingers in my ears <br />when friends recount stories I will not hear; <br />though I turn off the television <br />when I cannot face reality; <br />though I often wonder <br />if I could do my bit <br />for disaster victims; <br />though I know I stand alone; <br />though I repeatedly try to do <br />what is right <br />though it is unnoticed, <br />unappreciated, <br />or misinterpreted; <br />though I do not understand <br />the selfishness, thoughtlessness and cruelty <br />of the human race. <br /> <br />No, I will not have my feelings removed <br />for my pain is me <br />and life is misery <br />and joy is but a momentary reprieve. <br /> <br />I will not have my feelings removed <br />for I will not give up my moments <br />and I will make <br />and live <br />and remember <br />and wallow <br />in my moments <br />of birdsong <br />and Chopin sonatas <br />and Wordsworth and Longfellow <br />and leaf-fringed sunsets <br />and the bonding gaze of my horse and cat <br />and I will wash my feelings in my glorious moments. <br /> <br />No, I will not have my feelings removed. <br /> <br />(12 November 2000)<br /><br />Diana van den Berg<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/laser-surgery/
