"Lives of Quiet Desperation"

Let me tell you a secret
That only you and I know
And also the man down the street
Who sits in the light of traffic;
Let me tell you a truth:
Weightlifters grunt because they are in
Wretched and utter pain;
And you and I sit here and smile too
Because we are so sick.
Therefore do not worry if I smiling grin
When the talk turns like
My stomach; like the tide -
Breakers thunder because
The salty tears of earth
Gather in silence beneath
The running, spinning moon -
And I am not that bad. I am only
A little tired, some days.
You know it well. You too
Are tired, are stretched thin
Like the wave as it washes up
Between the dry sand and the roaring
Of the eternal breakers of the endless sea.