An Ode to Suffering

I’ve been here a hundred times over

Yet here I find myself once again

Bereft, struggling to stay afloat, spiraling in despair

It’s the same story I’ve faced for many cycles of my life; for many lifetimes within this life

A tale of not knowing

A tale of forgetting

A tale of insecurity that cuts so deep, bleeding out what little life is left

It is an internal rock bottom- so quiet, so subtle, so invisible to the outside

Yet, it eats away at me in its isolation

Maybe I should share it with the masses so it’s not alone in its hurt

Maybe that’s the desire behind this poem

Maybe the insecurity would mend if loved a bit more and in so doing, not denied but rather accepted

I think that’s the balm for the hurt- to be seen, to be heard, to be loved

A courageous, vulnerable act in a world keen to sheepish suppressions and sharp individualism

A softening, an opening in my humanity, into the humanity of all.