The Wise Assessment of Grains

I try not to go against the grain,
my grain, ours, but at times I must.

There’s peace in going with the grain
but life’s not all mahogany planks,
tight-grained, smooth as silk when finished
which a hand might be safely run along
without meeting a splinter.

But, against the grain of poorly finished
pine planks, for instance,
the chances of avoiding pain
are seriously diminished, though pain
may be worth the discomfort,
the outcome, the scar

Jim Culleny, 4/25/23