I Know Pain
By DH
I know pain like the back of my hand
I’ve felt it on my skin like wind from a fan
I’ve cradled it like a baby and rocked it to sleep
Spilled it all over my clothes and all over my sheets
I’ve loaded it into guns and forced others to accept it
I’ve harmonized with its voice and drove it in every direction
It walks when I walk and breathes when I breathe
Yeah I know pain and pain knows me
It mimics my behavior and dares me to get mad
It wants me, haunts me and taunts me when I’m glad
It made its way into my life and won’t let me be
Yeah I know pain and pain knows me
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
This poem left me speechless. It was so beautifully written and I could feel emotion and truth in every single line. Please hold onto the hope that you have left, it will pay off eventually. You have so much talent I hope you continue to write and share your poetry with the world.
I first want to thank you for opening up and sharing a view into your world and your pain. That can be very difficult to do, so I truly appreciate it. One particular line that really stuck with me is when you said, “It walks when I walk and breathes when I breathe” because I know how personal pain can really become a part of who you are. I hope you continue writing and sharing your world with the rest of us, and that through your writing, some of that pain can be reduced.
Now that I’ve read two of your poems, I know something too: You have a gift for words. Lots of other gifts too, but this is one I know when I see it. It’s one thing to go through a lot. It’s another to wrestle the words out. I hope you keep wrestling.
I love the personification of pain in this. I felt like pain was a physical and tangible thing. The two lines that struck me the most were “I’ve cradled it like a baby and rocked it to sleep” and “I’ve loaded it into guns and forced others to accept it.” The juxtaposition of cradling a baby and loading a gun is such a stark contrast and gives so much depth to what you’ve experienced. I’m sorry if this sounds too much like a teacher talking. I just really enjoy the images you used!
Great, powerful writing. The words used to describe the “comfort” that pain can actually, eventually become is felt throughout the poem – “I’ve cradled it like a baby and rocked it to sleep.” That pain can become an identity. Thank you for you sharing – I know others who need to hear this.
I really like the approach to the subject. Awesome follow-through.
I think it is really beautiful how you treat pain as a physical entity. That’s really powerful. I love how close you express that pain is to you. If it was a person it would not be a stranger, but always with you. I hope this poem has helped you heal any burdens you carry. This piece can really connect with those that are struggling. Try to keep your head up and keep writing! Thank you, DH!
DH,
I have come across this poem as part of a college course aimed at community engagement.
Wow, this is so powerful! Your description of pain is just so accurate. The personification of pain creates such a powerful image as well. It really brings pains to life, in such a true sense. Pain is such a hard emotion to live through. But turning your pain into beautiful art, such as poetry, is truly a gift as exemplified by this piece. Finding peace after living through painful things is one thing that writing can hopefully help you find! Please, never stop writing. And thank you for sharing this with the world!
DH – this poem is fantastic. The way you progress pain from an abstraction (wind on the back of your hand) to eventually become personified with its own mean-spirited personality (haunts me, taunts me) is remarkable. It exemplifies how pain matured with you and became a monster within you, becoming another living version of you, turning you into a spreader of more pain to others. Well done.
Dear DH,
Thank you for sharing this poem with me. I will not forgot the refrain “I know pain and pain knows me”, like a line in a blues song. I love how the images of pain move from so gentle: wind, a baby, a spill, to more active and dangerous, and finally, they become like a ghost – haunting, inhabiting. It’s unforgettable.
Gratefully,
Heather