CHINA TORI

For this I’m grateful:
that I’m no stranger to pain.
I have sat with it, dined with it,
and even played Whot with it…

and no, I have never won.

I have seen it take up
different forms
and in its kindest state,
it is still so ugly

I have come to know it
by many names
yet it brags that
I do not know the half of it.

Pain is patient.
It is purposeful and sometimes,
so full of itself.
But I’m grateful that
it stayed with me long enough
for me to know that
it is capable of providing answers.

Now, my days of fighting
with it are over;
talk about nipping in the bud
and cutting wings.
No guarantees, but I enjoy having
a good last laugh and wearing
a knowing smile sometimes

In my quarters, all that’s left is understanding and acceptance.
I accept because
it is in acceptance that
I have grown and
acquired a new nature.

I have no doubts that
it too has, from me,
learnt a thing or two
and it can now bear witness
to the strength I embody.

Image: Paola Chaaya