curses foiled again in poetry

swearing kills pain
numbs it frays it
helps you block it out
the fucking scientists said that

swearing is a sign of honesty
or anyway the appearance of honesty
it connotates the shedding of niceties
evokes the admission of rawer truths
it said on a goddamned radio show

swearing creates social bonding
we show our most honest reactions
to each other and it makes us all
feel like each others’ intimates
according to some asshole

so as near as I can tell
people who don’t swear much
for religious or cultural reasons
are in a lot of fucking pain
are goddamned liars and
are lonely isolated assholes

I myself
don’t want any of that shit
I wouldn’t
want to live like that
it sounds fucking terrible