To Pop a Pill

If you’re in pain and take a pill,
As most folks aching surely will,
You probably will get relief
Sometimes long-lasting, others brief.

Yet when I think about that pill,
There’s something I can’t fathom still;
It might be Advil or Aleve,
But how’s it know what to relieve?

One tablet works for headache pain,
A swollen knee or shoulder strain.
It helps you if your back is breaking,
Or your wrist is badly aching.

How that pill knows where to go
Is what I’d really like to know.
Our brains must be like a computer,
Acting as a troubleshooter.

So if your pain is in your head,
That pill won’t hit the knee instead;
And if you’ve hurt your lower back,
Some signal keeps it right on track.

How clever is the human brain!
Examining the vast terrain
Inside of us to find the spot
Where we’d prefer that pain is not.

The mind’s a well-oiled slick machine,
Just working magic, so routine.
I’m grateful when I pop a pill
My brain’s equipped with such a skill!