I Have Softened My Blows

I always thought of pain as a revolving door.
And I walked through it,
like a sinner walks through the gates of a church.
I thought I had to.
I can proudly say, however, I pushed the door hard enough
and it came off its hinges.
I also think I’m past the metaphors.
I am healing
and I am trying not to be sorry about that.
The flakes of my skin became scales.
I’m changing for the better, I think, and I stopped being angry about it
when I realised that everyone is running from something.
There are a thousand ways to return home.
I’m glad I chose this one.

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Lenya Norea Wegener is an emerging 18-year-old poet from Germany. In a perfect world, she would spend the entire day in a cabin in the woods writing and reading everything from poetry to nonfiction. But, alas, she has to get her high school diploma first.