Helen Cottee
Hurt people hurt people
I understand those
Who are wounded
And unconsciously
Seek to wound others
As a way of finding healing.
I can feel the temptation
To lash and flail
With teeth and nails
Hoping to find relief
Even if the cost
Is someone else’s pain.
But life has taught me
That healing is harder won that that;
And that pain in another
Never relieves pain in myself.
So I take a breath,
Even when I want to lash out
At the source of my wounding,
Even when I want to shake
The one who should be
Wrapping me in love
Not anguish;
Trusting that if I refuse to
Bleed all over others
But rather allow it to seep deep into
The soil of my own life
It may transform from
A symbol of sorrow
To one of life.
