The Yearning Poem by Yoni Assis

Lying in bed, tossing and turning
A sudden knot in your chest alters your breathing
Body permeates with an all-too-familiar burning
Much ado about nothing, your “learning”
Victim once more to the Yearning

Male or female, young and old, the Yearning doesn’t discriminate
In its rapid spread it won’t hesitate
Foolish are those who even attempt to meditate
Your better judgment it will eliminate

Yearning makes the strong, weak
Extroverts, meek
Introverts, speak
Transforming all into irrational freaks

You’re smooth like that until you’re not
Yearning reduces confidence to a tiny dot
As if your insides were to liquify and rot
A blot Rorschach could easily spot

Worse than a drug
Or a beating by a thug
One affliction you must constantly lug
The frail heart is perpetually tugged

Take heed: Yearning can last days, months, even years
Its wake will leave behind many a tear
That it will return again someday, the paramount fear
These are the times to lean on your peers

The disease is the common crush, and there is no known cure at this time