"The rack of this tough world"

I've been taken to the edge,
shown the depths of degradation.
Listening to King Lear, I find
it hard to contain the suffering
and feel as if my heart will break.
In the last few lines, we are advised
to “Speak what we feel,
not what we ought to say”,
then the curtain comes down.
There is no catharsis;
no restoration of order and tranquility.
I cannot choose but weep.
“Its only a story”, you say.
“Is it relevant?” students ask.
But the myth still resonates; problems
related to the generation gap abound.
We still need lessons of patience,
generosity and tolerance.
So whenever I meet Lear
my heart opens and opens again.