No Pain (for the Jerks)
By Michelle Garren Flye
It’s little things.
Playground things.
A hard bump
Instead of a pass.
A mocking word
Like a tiny barb.
A whisper, a lie,
A rumor spread
Like stinky cheese
On a wilting cracker.
It’s dumb things
That shouldn’t matter.
A missing invitation
To a birthday party.
Picking me last
For every team.
Just bullshit really.
Nothing that hurts.
You can’t make me cry.
I’m too tough for that.
I don’t cry when
The leaves fall.
I don’t weep when
Rain thunders down.
I don’t mourn the
Wilting dead flowers
By the walk.
How could neglect
Pierce my heart, then?
Why would contempt
Cause me grief?
Or cruelty sadden me?
I feel no pain.
I feel nothing at all.
“Reflection” Photo by Michelle Garren Flye
BREATHE: Michelle Garren-Flye 
Wow. I imagine so many people feel that way. Or they want to feel that way, they want not to hurt, especially over the petty little things people do and say, but you know, deep down inside there is that hurt, that resentment and that ‘why am I not good enough?’
I think you’re right. It’s sad, isn’t it, that as a species we still go after the little guy with a pack mentality?
It truly is, and so many people are afraid to stand up for other people. People suck.