Each time we give that formulaic greeting
\nwe shrink the definition of “I’m fine”:
\nit used to be “I’m fine” meant things were perfect,
\nbut now it means, “don’t want to bore you; I decline
\nto mention all the things that happen to me
\nthe aches and pains and disappointments hard
\nbecause if I declared all of those heartaches
\nyou’d think I was a failure and discard
\nthe drama of my life as not worth hearing
\nthe failures you would never contemplate
\nand as I listed each sad difficulty
\nyou’d think each drama just a quirk of Fate.<\/p>\n
So all of us reduce the definition
\nof what in life is patently okay
\nand answer every soft interrogation
\nwith “Everything is simply fine, today!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Each time we give that formulaic greeting we shrink the definition of “I’m fine”: it used to be “I’m fine” meant things were perfect, but now it means, “don’t want to bore you; I decline to mention all the things … Continue reading