pain

pain is like the ocean

sometimes the waves crest when you’re not ready 

so instead of riding the swell,

you get slammed by a white wall of pain

so much of it that you can’t find air to fill your lungs

suddenly you're asphyxiating

but sometimes pain comes in soft, low tides 

and this time you brace yourself for the impact

your body buoys and sinks in time with the crest

it washes over you all the same but it doesn’t hurt so bad this way

suddenly you're treading water

you breathe in, and out

and you wait for the next one.