I am no stranger to pain

Yet, it is fresh agony every time it visits

It gnaws at my insides, seeking my attention

I try to hold it, contain it to the outside

My breaths becoming shallow

But it demands to be felt

/

It promises not to leave until I embrace it

In its entirety

In its fullness

It derives joy in my shouts, my cries

And I let it in, I welcome it

It consumes me, makes love to my insides

And it only leaves after I am depleted, gasping for breath

/

In its absence, I can breathe again

Filling my lungs with all the air I can

Knowing it has left its mark on me, making my acquaintance

I am weakened but I know the worst is over

/

Time passes

I am myself again but I have also changed

I wear its scars as a badge of honour

The emblems of a survivor, a warrior

Its memory, a distant past