Mindless Pain

My mothers sharp booming voice bounces off the walls and creeps into my room at 9:17 telling me wake up and I twist my wrists and massage my joint and crawl out of bed I stumble my way through the hallway and down the 13 stairs past the living room and into the dining room I flop in a chair which is too hard on my fragile back at 9:35 my brother hops downstairs and opens his mouth for the 100th time today, only this time it might be the most important

I get the daily lecture from my 10 year old brother telling me

“take care of your body”
“get your electrolytes”
“have you taken your medications?”
“How much pain are you in?”

How much pain am I in? I tell my brother “Im fine” like I do without even thinking anymore.