Sometimes, she said, being uncomfortable
is what we need to do.
And I think of the scald of hot water,
how it cleans the stain.
How being covered in abrasive fuzz
is the only way to harvest the peach.
How the seed is carried by the burr.
It is human to seek pleasure, shun pain.
But think of the tree, how it lets
the gale rip away what is dead.
And the grape, how it bubbles
and foams before it becomes wine.
And the cactus, how it needs the drought
as much as it needs the rain.