Poems about The Experience of Pain

So much of our trauma revolves around pain: emotional, physical, mental, spiritual—there is a profound feeling of loss, of grief, of what might have been. Pain creates its own blanket that can wrap itself around us until we feel we can’t even breathe or move-we become paralyzed. And when we get to name our pain, through words, we get to breathe again, move again, we are the authors of what we will create from this experience of pain. when the pain was so great I… when triggers transform into insights... when I forgave myself… when I discovered my smile…

Borrowed Moods

Each day I startle awake, my days undefined,
I’m a prisoner to forces beyond my own mind.

Is my mother angry? Is that today’s norm?
Or is she serene? Will she keep me warm?

Did I receive that text? The one I waited for so long?
Or was I again left waiting, maybe my own judgement was wrong.

The skies decide wether I smile or frown,
gloomy clouds weigh heavy, dragging me down.

Sunshine can lift me but only so high,
light does not shine where my sorrows lie.

My most loved grow weary of the sadness they see,
I wish they could understand how tiring it is to be me.

I wish they could know how much it really takes,
to live in this whirlwind of highs and heartaches.

Their patience wears thin but I’m always aware,
I really try to be happy, I do, I swear.

My feelings are so random, I’m playing a losing game,
but I grow tired of myself so who can I blame?

For them, grief is a passing, a brief rain, a light shower,
but for me, it’s a lifetime of suffering- every minute of every hour.

Author Statement

I’ve loved poetry for a long time before I attempted writing it. I use it as a form of therapy. Whenever I can’t express my feelings through words, music, or sitting with it- I write. It forces me to think about my emotions and process them as I’m working on something. By the time I’m done writing a poem, I’ve let out all my feelings and felt them out as I form sentences that flow together. Not to mention I’m left with something I created and something I’m happy with. After I wrote this poem I let out a sigh of relief. It felt good to once again release my thoughts on paper.

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By G. K. Dhaliwal
 · 
December 6, 2024

Only You Know You

Original—Poem #11
2024

Rediscovering your inner child is supposed to feel like a breakthrough
For me, it feels like a breakup

I don’t think my inner child wants to speak to me
She thinks I don’t like her, wanting to remain apart

But I want her to know how much I love her
How much I have yet to learn from her

She’s so strong and courageous
She’s the reason I am where I am today
She protected me in ways unimaginable

Though she feels worthless, like a piece of garbage
I want to take away those feelings from her and show her what she truly is
Worth more and a piece of divine love

Little one, please give me a second chance
Don’t break up with me again

I can't afford to keep losing you at the cost of my suppressions
I am ready for us to journey into joy and wisdom

We can recover in peace and love
I know it’s scary but it’s not yours to carry

I will take care of the pain
I want you to enjoy your lovely life

You’ve always deserved it and I’m sorry you never got to enjoy any of it
But I’m here to take away your burdens that were never yours to carry
And lay down happy, fun, creativity for they were always yours to carry

I was a mistake...
No little one, you were never a mistake

You are my treasure
My abundance of joy

You’re the reason I get up every day
I live for you, in hopes that you can live for you

Give me another chance
I’ll think about it...

That’s okay little one, think about it and even if it’s a no
I will accept your beautiful wishes
For you deserve to be respected and valued

You are human and a child of God
When and if you’re ready, just know I will be here, ready to turn your tears into joy

Love you little one

—the end

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By s.renita
 · 
October 9, 2024

How Do I Survive?

I was born at the start of winter
Seven months later my mother passed away
Four months later my nightmare began
She came to our house as a live-in nanny
But her plans were of another nature
By the age of seven and suffering her physical, psychological abuse
Another nightmare began, started by my brother
He had decided to use me as a man would use a woman
And the family did nothing until he was caught red-handed
He left the house to never return again,
But the damage done by both and could never be undone
Now my journey to heal has just begun
And let me tell you straight, it is not any fun
To talk to others who had the same
Seems to help heal the pain
But in my heart of hearts I know
Although the pain will heal and peace may come
But nothing in the world can truly heal and remove the damage done.

Author Statement

As I sat and composed this poem, thinking about all of the abuse I had faced as a child and young adult, tears filled my eyes and they developed into a feeling of rage.

The more I wrote the more relief I felt, it was as if the hurt started to melt.

My eyes are red, to match my hair, my eyes are blue to match my soul.

I know the day will come that all of my frustration of no one helping me will leave but for now I will just hold it until I feel safe enough to just let it go.

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By Tee Jay
 · 
May 30, 2024

“Special”

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By S.J.C.
 · 
September 12, 2023

HUNGER

HUNGER

“You need to eat before you pass out.
Hello?
Missy?
Why aren’t you eating?
What's wrong with you?”

…hurt
hurt, hurt, HURT.

Why should I eat, when they starved me for over a decade?
Eat before I pass out you say?
But I've already passed out,

And NO!
It wasn't because I didn't eat,
That's what they kept voicing,
But it WASN'T because I didn’t eat!
It’s simply because I am not being me,

“Me?
What kind of foolishness are you talking about?”

I’m talking about expressing my need for hunger,
My need,
My desperation,
My hurt,
For hunger.

hunger, hunger, hunger,
For my dark soul,
Deep below,
Deep within,
All alone,

He’s all I ever thirst or hunger for,
For He fills me up with His wisdom and knowledge,
On how to be hungry for me,
Before I pass out in the hands of my roots once again.

He reminds me,
Only I can feed myself now,
Feed me with oneness in my mind, body, heart, and soul,

And for that, I am grateful to know,
To have the Lord be part of my dusty life,
The life He can take back,
In the split of a second,
Amen.

Author Statement

When creating this work, I was honestly experiencing emotional turmoil. Many emotions, feelings, sensations, and thoughts just kept on spiralling. I was so broken at this point to have recognized how much I was starved, and bullied at the dinner table alone. It’s still so faded, yet feels like it was only yesterday this was happening. It was so difficult to go through and is still TOO hard to look back on. I break so hard and don’t want to look back. I have been working towards overcoming these immense negative/hurtful feelings, and try to remind myself that I deserve to eat. I deserve to walk in my own shoes, and make my own decisions. It hasn't been easy at all, but having this awareness and acknowledgement that it didn't stem from me helps tremendously. Also, to know that my past does not dictate who I am. I dictate who I am. TBH, I still FEEL like it's my fault but I KNOW it's not my fault. God bless.

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By s.renita
 · 
August 10, 2023

SARALIVES…ON

SARALIVES…ON
**Trigger Warning**

Never seeing a way out,
Corrupted by the greatest enemy of all;
…the inner me,

"You piece of garbage,
Who do you think you are?
Why would anyone care for your existence?
You low life, you're a failure,

You want to know why people laugh at you?
It's because you're a disgusting piece of garbage,
When you talk, they laugh.
When you cry, they laugh.
When you breathe, they laugh.
If you just open your mouth, they bawl out with laughter.

Just end yourself already,
Go grab the razor blade,
Go grab the bottle of pills,
Go grab the garbage bag,
Go grab the bleach,
Go get that string from your robe,
I wish you were dead already,

No one will hear you except me,
I promise you are safe,
Safe with me,
Remember this, no one cares about you,
So, there really is no point to living,
Kill yourself. End it. Stop it."

STOP! STOP! STOP!
WHY WON'T IT STOP?
I CANNOT GET IT TO STOP!
help me, my mind has taken over, and i cannot control it any longer,
am i really the creator of these thoughts? it cannot be so…

"But it is so, stop trying to blame another soul, you pile of dust"

I JUST WANT PEACE! PEACE! PEACE!

"Yeah? Peace? Who do you think you are?
You won't ever get peace. You deserve to suffer you piece of garbage."

God? Lord? Source? Universe? Are you out there?
Oh…Please be there Lord, stay with me,
I don't think I will ever have eternal peace.
(with a sigh) "Yeah, I'll never have eternal peace..."

I am going to suffer forever,
My soul will suffer forever,
Please Lord, I did NOTHING wrong,
I was just a little kid,
A small, young, innocent little kid,

Who was supposed to receive LOVE, instead receiving a great deal of FEAR,
Though her true essence has always been of LOVE,

She loved those close to her, but they turned against her,
She loved Life, but Life remained a closed door,
She loved her grandma so dearly, but grandma was never known,
She loved her dad, but dad was never there,

That’s when it all started…
The destruction of MY mind, body, heart, and soul,
She doesn’t understand why or how, but that it started,

For the past decade or more,
It's been ME and A GREAT DEAL OF DENIAL...
DENIAL...DENIAL...DENIAL...
And after 21 years of being alive, I have finally been set free by the Truth,
By the Grace of God, My Lord, My Savior,

Let me share with you,
Share that the inner me, that wounded inner child,
Has now become my ally whom I will protect forever,
Because WE know it came from the others, not the self,
Thank You Lord, The Truth is setting me free.
SARA LIVES ON...

Author Statement

I never expected to live on. I thought I would be dead. Never knowing that my upbringing was fucking toxic and abusive. That no one ever cared, and genuinely hated me for being...I still don't know at this point. Then having been diagnosed with mental illnesses just allowed me to believe even more that I was the fuck up. That it was all me. That all those negative thoughts came from me. I was the creator of it. Of those self destructing, evil thoughts. That I now KNOW AND UNDERSTAND STEM FROM THE ABUSERS who are SADLY the very individuals that brought, and 'raised' me into this world. 'FAMILY.'

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By s.renita
 · 
April 9, 2023

In the House Where I Grew Up

The kitchen table
In the house where I grew up
Was wooden, cold and stained

Came apart in the middle
Like so many ruined meals
And other realities hard to digest

Silences which say more than words can say
Furtive glances the only I love you
Support incomplete, bond left unspoken

When we left the house where I grew up
The kitchen table stayed behind
But the dining room table came with us

A place to spend and fear the holidays
An anchor to hold us to our past
When we did not know how to be a family

Author Statement

“In The House Where I Grew Up” appeared in Zouch Magazine & Miscellany, in July 2011; The Friendly Voice, in April 2018; a Poetry Pacific, November 2018

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By Patrick Connors
 · 
July 8, 2022

Wasted

I don’t remember,
I try to see
Was it ever better?
It had to be
I felt it first
at the age of three,
It came up from the black
when it came for me.

In the blink of an eye
It consumed me whole
It felt like drowning
Like falling
Like freezing cold
Like fever
Like sorrow
Like burning rain
Like hunger
Like poison
Like prison
Like chains

I still carry it now
It’s a hole I can’t patch
Soaking wet, that won’t dry
Gnawing itch i can’t scratch
It’s a scar that won’t heal
A wound that bleeds and bleeds
Its not all that I am
But it’s in all of me

l numb myself and I try,
and I try not to get numb
And I clutch to the light on the days when there’s sun
But every step that ive taken
Is further from the place I want to be
Its clear from my footprints
Im moving laterally

But then you found me that day
You called out to me
You came with the light
And you gave some light to me
Your voice was like music
Your heart was pure gold
Your touch was like magic
We fit like a mold

You showed me your journey
What it meant to be strong
How it felt to truly love,
To be loved
To belong.

And for a moment I could make it
For a moment I could see
Together we could do it
Together...
You & Me
Together we’d do anything
I had you
You had me
But then my darkness met your darkness

And now you’re gone
It was all a dream

I promised to protect you
You promised not to run
I held the pain you gave me
You said
Be strong, it won’t be long
But when I fell and begged for mercy
That you wouldn’t do
Because the pain i asked you to hold for me
Was just too heavy for you.

So last night we danced together
One last time
To our song
And you said you’d always love me
But what we had was gone
So my love, forever, I’ll hold you
In the space where we first met
And I’ll try to become a better man
Who you’re trying to forget

I sit here with my darkness
If it’s all I’m meant to be
At least this sucking bleeding pain
Is familiar to me
I’m sifting through the carnage
Its heavier than before
Was it ever better?
It doesn’t matter anymore .

Now these memories of you and I
Are like weeping child
Watching his mother die

Like a wasted hope
Or a wasted plan
For a wasted life
By a wasted man

Author Statement

Depression, shame, loss, coping.

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By Jay C
 · 
June 29, 2022
Featured Image

Shame

For more art, see @ukcanjamz

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By ukcanjamz
 · 
June 23, 2022

Silent Suffering

The constant shame and self-judgement.
The many times I tried to tell someone and froze.
Feeling like I was a target for abuse to happen. What had I done to cause it?
My innocence was lost. Who would love someone like me?
Plagued by feelings of unworthiness.
Existing for others and never for myself.
Feeling lost, alone, unseen.
My true self hides in the shadows no more.

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By MB
 · 
June 22, 2022

The Gatehouse