What do I know about the down side?
I know bruises, scratches, busted lips, black eyes, and sore limbs...
But what do I really know?
I don't know crippling hunger, or broken bones, or hospitalization...
What do I know about the dark nights, and I mean the REALLY dark nights?
I know crying quietly as though to not wake the other people in the room
I know biting my lip till it bleeds in order to not let my wails escape
I know shaking, my head pounding, wishing for the lump in my throat to disappear.
I know the desperation of not knowing how to ease the pinching in my chest
of not knowing how to fill the emptiness
of not knowing if the burning of my eyes will ever stop...
I know reaching for the thing I know won't make the problems go away forever.
But the thing has the power to make them seem invisible for a little while.
And I want that thing anyway,
so I can breathe again.
So, what do I know?
Nothing really; I know nothing.
