I CAN DO THIS
I've mastered pain. I studied it in school.
And then I practiced, sometime hours a day.
I know how to negotiate the pull
Against the gut until it goes away.
And when it doesn't, I know how to wait,
To put a good face on it, or to cry
If it's too hard. And when it won't abate,
I've even mastered wishing I could die.
But joy has never tested me till now.
Oh, I've had blissful episodes, it's true,
But nothing that required learning how
To foster and sustain it until you.
So if at first I falter, don't be sad.
I'm sure I'll get the hang of being glad.
