pain is something to be endured
if it doesn’t kill
the lessons it evokes
only if we’re willing to learn
the trajectory of life
is no life without scars
i carry mine with pride
my skin is painted in them
and you kissed it all away
for once
i felt beautiful, wanted, craved
erased all that felt wrong
but without the pain
i would have not known
the value of love
because it sunk deeper
all the way to the core
i did not want to let go

© jacob greb — from lovers’ tiff: a ballad