It’s an inconvenience mostly

sometimes it’s a real joke

And at the end of it all

we don’t want to hear it

don’t want to know

shut our eyes and put our fingers in our ears

and pretend it isn’t happening

 

‘Hey!’ we shout

‘Why don’t you smile?

Why don’t you get a life, a job, friends, a house?

Why don’t you look after yourself, get better, snap out of it?’

And turn our backs

and hurry away

because this, this is an imposition

an encroachment on our comfort

 

But then it’s our turn

and our problems are different

Our problems are real, and true

and we can’t understand why no one will help us

why no one wants to know

We can’t feel better,

we can’t get better,

we can’t get that job

and smiling just hurts

Why are our friends running away

Why won’t anyone help?

 

Other people’s problems

what a curse

Our problems?

Well, that’s different, isn’t it?