Photo by Reza Hasannia on Unsplash
it’s not for me
it’s not for me
to take on the shitstorm of suffering
passed on across generations
asking for my complicity in perpetuating
the emotional disfigurement
we are trying to escape
it is not for me to bear the fallout from the pain
caused by violating innocence
it is not for me to endure the scars
born of generational misery
when solace was sought in abuse
when lashing out was covering wounds
and yet my heart is bleeding
from your knives
not forged in my village
from your arrows loosened on a long-forgotten battlefield
my tears barely held in check
and my soul at risk of hardening
I can’t take back time
from the moments it was lost
but I can stop running from unresolved pain
laying down my armour
trusting you will take yours off too
disrupting the circle of hurt
diving deep
and coming alive in connection,
bringing shared joy, laughter, and pleasure
back to light again