Hurt

Hurt

The world comes hard and fast
A freight train blasting through
Running into my chest
Beating the shit outta me
I’m hit so hard
Its shock runs me over.

It hurts to be here sometimes
The world weighs on me
So heavy I can’t get going
Even the morning
Feels painful enough not to try
I pray for night and sleep.

My chest aches with pain so real
My body goes limp and numb
The beat down is inescapable
I can barely breathe
Until a breeze blows
Reminding me I can exhale.

The reality I can breathe at all
Opens up my aperture
Peace sweeps me
As I release the hurt and anger
The lesson remains:
Protect yourself but love others.

Hurt is the sign we’re human
The greatest among us taught this
And still we hurt them, too
I found the cure to heal it
Comes when I open
My hands to help like I’d want.

The great healing to yourself
Comes when you let it go
Holding onto hurt just hurts longer
Here inside is your medicine
Your personal balm in Gilead
Tears do fall never to return.

Copyright © 2023 Charles Edward York
* No part of this poem may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any way or form or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise without the written permission of the author.*