Silver and white

Embedded with rubies

Shining and bright

With light from the point

Royal and pretty

Into the chest

Between the ribs

Tight and breathless

Sharp and deep

Each time it heals

And scars ‘round the blade

It slips in deeper

The numbness comes and goes

The scab forms and breaks

But the knife never leaves

You carry it always

With the pain accepted and forgotten

As just what life’s given.

I promise myself

That it won’t slip in more

Ignoring the fact

That I’ve said this before.