All Pain Can Be Controlled

Neilson, Shane (1975)

Original Text

Shane Neilson. Complete Physical. Erin, Ontario: Porcupine's Quill. 2010

1In the hack-the-limb-off,

2pull out the tooth by tying it to a doorjamb,

3give the child something to cry about,

4cold showers are best, or just ice it, or suck it up, suck all of it up,

5punch your dad in the belly as he tightens his muscles,

6ten on a scale of one to ten just means a better amount of control,

7your lover looking at you and saying, Are you feeling this yet?,

8the torturer grinning and saying, Have no fear,

9filling the airbag with nails,

10stone in the bottom of the shoe for the faithless,

11dreams of the euthanasia machine are best interrupted halfway through,

12the logical end is death,

13kind of way.

RPO poem Editors

Jim Johnstone

RPO Edition

2013

Special Copyright

Poem used with permission of the author.