Poem: The Gift of Pain

A poem about healing.

the gift of pain

I've tried every method
To rid myself of this pain
I've tapped and chanted
Performed reiki in vain

I've tried shrooms and ayahuasca
Experienced visions and trips
And during one, I was attacked
By a force I couldn't resist

But I cried out, "I want to be done!"
It said, "I'll decide when you're done"
And the ride continued on
Until at last, I was freed.

I finally stopped running
From the pain that lingered inside
I stopped trying to ignore it
And instead, I let it reside

I invited it in, like a guest
And gave it a place to stay
And as we coexisted together
It began to fade away

I allowed it to be a part of me
And in that union, I found peace
The pain no longer had power
But was just a fleeting release

With this newfound harmony
I was finally content
The pain was no longer a foe
But a gift that I had spent.

Now, I'm moving forward
Manifesting a new reality
Where I am again whole
And the pain is just a memory.

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As some of you know, I’ve been experimenting with AI-assisted poetry. This is one that I feel works well enough, I’m considering publishing and sharing it outside my AI journal. Before I do, I want your feedback - is this good? Do you like the poem? Would you read this absent the context of this journal?

BTW - I took the entire poem and put it into Midjourney as a prompt, along with the text “black and white, pen and ink” to visualize it and got this:

Which of these four images do you like best?