An Instinct for Comparison

But was it, your life,
Yours, especially
Hard? Not the question,

Really is it, no.
Beavers chew and dam
Anything they can,

Even when hand raised
At wild animal
Rescue shelters. You,

Dear, have to compare
Your life to others,
As relentlessly

As orphaned rodents
Pile toys on bare floors
And gnaw what they can.

But comparison’s
No more that hard floor
Than is dragging toys

To stop up the doors.
The floor’s just a floor.
It never held you

Or your life in mind.
If it comforts you,
Dear, the floor is hard,

And if you’ve had it
Easy in this life,
In comparison

With everyone else,
Your floor is still hard,
Still bare, blank, and hard.