Pain
by Hannah K
He came unbidden to the world
A stranger at our feast
He hoped he would destroy us all—
This unrelenting beast.
We didn’t know his appetite—
The blade, the blood, the rope
He didn’t know our mettle—
Didn’t factor in our hope.
Unaware, he sparked a magic
Worked by Deity on high
With every stroke he grew our faith—
Deep longing tinged our cry.
Sweet blessing sipped from poisoned glass—
He schemed, we triumphed still—
His voice grew hoarse with raging on—
Ours held a quiet will.
How strange a fiend to share our bread
To calculate our ruin
A beast, he took our desperate clay
And left us madly human.
Hannah K is a third culture kid still trying to figure out where she belongs. She studies child development and international service at Texas Christian University.
Photography by Kenneth Godoy