Pain On a Scale of One to Ten – a poem by Kate Rauner

Is your pain in your knees?

Is your pain in your head?

Who owns your pain

And where has it led?

Who makes the pills

And who makes the rules?

Who gets to decide?

Your struggle’s not yours.

Malpractice insurance,

Politicians and lawyers,

Family and doctors,

Police and employers.

The injured are pitied,

The addicts condemned.

Is heroine cheaper

Than OxyContin?

Fraud or dependence,

From tales we’ve heard

Patients in pain are

Over-pilled

And under-cured.

 

Inspired by a story at The Atlantic regarding pain traced to somatic (“in the body”) origins. Suffering from mental illness is its own topic.