#005. To Mr. Shot Glass
It's strange -- the remarks that invade our consciousness
and our well-being -- cutting through to unknown yet

sensitive weaknesses hidden among daily concerns --
so that suddenly something insignificant has hurt you

deeply: you know well that there are mechanisms
below our mechanisms, allowing us to hurt and be hurt

secretly, private injuries too embarrassing to mention,
so we don't: or maybe it's less common than I think:

maybe we're both just too vulnerable: but I believe we
all have pointless scars caused by people who didn't

know any better and didn't have a right to know
better -- so we just keep hurting each other: and there's

no forgiving the injuries from people who don't
know they were the cause: I want to tell you to let it

go anyway, but I know better: people try so hard to be
nice that the smallest cuts become grave scars, and

pain is unavoidable, so we just keep on hurting each other...

Based off of and line "mechanisms below our mechanisms" taken from "Shot Glass" (c) 1999 A.R. Ammons.

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