There is No Paradise

Trouble in Paradise
"There is no Paradise, Kathryn,"she replied
but there's still trouble

So much trouble
I cry for everyone's trouble
so much more than my own
my own life seems small and insignificant
in comparison

One friend's abortion
is another friend's choice to keep her unplanned pregnancy
Trouble in Paradise

One colleagues abuse
is another woman's divorce
Trouble in Paradise

pain
women
sexuality
all different all similar
Trouble in Paradise

The loss of a father
grandfathers
an uncle
my own great-grandmother
Trouble in paradise

pain
women
sexuality
loss
loss
loss
Trouble in Paradise

Sacrificing one thing for another
cat for dog
heart for work
sanity for money
Trouble in Paradise

I weep for those
who are different
from me
going through
different things
as I cry for myself
when I am overextended
by choice
but not by choice
I cry for our shared pain
and for pain I may
never
ever
know

pain
women
sexuality
loss
choice

Trouble in Paradise
"There is no Paradise, Kathryn," she replied