Do not chase pain (a cautionary tale)

What is it that we do,

I keep the ones who pain me

closest to my heart,

keep the ones who kill me.

We keep dying. Do I believe this

is all there is.

“But you have to.

You have to hold me, bring me close,

keep me close enough to touch
–how else would life go on,
how else would I feel any relief from

the knife I still hold in your chest.”

I draw you in, further,
and believe that somehow, I can reach

around my back and pull you
all the way through me.
If you can pass through me

then maybe we can heal.