"Troubles" by Stephen Green II

They say troubles come in three’s;
I say troubles grow on trees.

Smoke billows ‘round weeping willows
All is silent on the tear-stained pillow.
In a young man’s room, where shadows promise comfort,
The loneliness of the Middle dampens every effort
To be more than just a byproduct of lust and desire;
To be more than a pawn’s head placed upon a spire.

They say troubles come in three’s
I say troubles grow on trees.

Shelters are prisons and forts are cages;
Punishments plus smiles are offered as wages.
Insensitively screaming “You think you got the stuff?!”
To the boy that dared to say “Dad, that’s enough!”
Other-worldly strength hidden behind weakness.
The strength of a man behind involuntary meekness.

They say troubles comes in three’s
I say troubles grow on trees.

Yet there’s hope in the strain
And priceless is the gain
When one survives the storm
And goes against the norm.
For a man most succeeds
When troubles grow on trees.