It seems I chose the softest part
A precious spot on which to start
Pale and tender this thinned skin
No better place to let pain in
-a.r.

Love-hate has always been
My relationship with all things
Including with myself
I have not been able
To give myself completely
To imperfect love affairs
Or family affairs
I always keep a part of me
Guarded and regarding
From a safe sardonic distance
I have rarely even questioned
My hardened nature
It kept me safe
Until this morning
As I slept
My daughter woke me softly
With a kiss to say goodbye
She offered me her Pooh Bear
She said I should hold him for safe-keeping
Half asleep and without hesitation
I held out my hands to her
And I gently took the bear
I pulled him tight to my chest
Wrapped my arms around him
And rested my head between his little ears
In my early morning haze
I exhaled so completely
That I suddenly felt as if I were falling in love
Unashamed, unprotected, unguarded
Unabashedly I cried
Why did I let this go
Why did I ever hide this away
Why did I put it in a box, in a bag, on a shelf
Why did I give it away
Why did I call it child’s play
I want it back again
This freedom to let myself fall
Even if it is only pretend
Even if it is only for the length of a hug
-a.r.
Are we so bored
Uninterested and unaware
Of our own travels
That we miss
Our own momentum
Demanding then
Racy bandwagons
To hitchhike on
Hoping, hopping
From one to the next
To another
No. I’ll get there
Eventually
So I wave them by
And think
I am content
To take my time
On my own
Two feet
-a.r.
Photograph: Girl Walking Alone in a Golden Paddy Field by Atul Tater
Sitting quiet, still and stoic
Does not mean
That the stab wound did not sting
That it did not fester and infect
Since I have so long allowed it
To be painfully inflicted
Time and time again
In the same soft spot where it began
As I sat unmoved, sick and distracted
Doped by numbing non-reaction
An illusion of compassion
I have been strong, and have stayed silent
But I am human, spent, and sore
Benefit of doubt becoming septic
Soon to rot from inside out
If I do not get up off this cushion,
Turned doormat, and scream once more
While I cut out this infection
Starting at the source
-a.r.
Tonight
I find myself choosing
Between a tough fight
And a soft relinquishing
I have no fear of sweat and blood
Especially my own
I have blinked away the salt and sting before
I have tasted that sanguine tincture on my tongue
Just as I have gritted and grinned
Guffawed even at the shattering
Of my own sanity
While I shook it off
And got to the business
Of setting it back into place
With a quick jerk, and a wince
Harder still is this, stepping back
And letting his fist fly just beyond me
Leaving only that slight breeze
Which carries with it a faint scent of sweat
And deflated fury
Directing my swollen gaze downward
I let myself listen, for an instant
To shocked silence
A moment of pure possibility
While we wait
To see what move I choose next
Tonight I find myself
-a.r.
Photograph: Boxing-2, by Kalel Koven