Catharsis

Despair -
I know its leaden touch,
I can feel its cold fingers
Squeezing my heart,
The dark shroud that saps
My warmth and leaves me empty.

Regret -
Hollow cry of a soul betrayed;
Pain too deep for tears,
A wound that fails to heal,
Sorrow  that flesh cannot contain,
Scars that would not fade..

Bitterness -
Poisons my soul...
Shriveling from it's toxic touch,
My spirit turns to a hollow husk,
And though I ache to scream
No sound leaves my lips.

Rage -
Dark predator
That prowls in my darkness,
Caged, it turns on its master
Razor sharp claws rending me,
From within.

The Cure -
In desperation I grab my pen,
Trying to draw these demons out,
And the poison seeps through the ink,
Its toxic touch burning paper like acid,
My pain engraved for the world to see.

The Price -
Though I hang my head
In abject shame,
To let others view
the tormented landscape
That I call my soul,

The Reward -
Only by cutting through
A festered wound
And letting it bleed,
Can I draw the poison out
And finally let it heal.
 

Copyright 2000 "Catharsis" by Catherine Hermoso.  All Rights Reserved.