A Terrible Teaching

Being wounded
Taught me much.

I learned
When wounded…

You stop.
You go no further
And often writhe
In your own blood.

You hate.
You despise who wounded you
The manner of your wound
And the place you were wounded.

You plan.
You form actions for retribution
The manner you will employ
And the fierceness in which you will apply it.

You act.
You do so stealthily.
You do so passionately.
And you withdraw quickly.

And finally, you regret.
You realize revenge is not sweet.
You understand vengeance was not yours.
And you discover you’ve hurt yourself
More than the one who first hurt you.

Being wounded by another
Is a tragic
Needless
Evil thing.

But wounding yourself further
In an empty bid for retribution
Is far more foolhardy
Pointless
And worthless
Than was the initial wounding.

Oh, the things pain will teach.