"Letting out the Pain" by Laurel C. Young - Contest Entry

Letting out the Pain

By Laurel C. Young

Pried the razor from,

The Lady’s Schick,

Why’d I’d fallen for another prick?

Why'd dad beaten me again with a stick?

Blade sliced through flesh,

Red ribbons down my arm,

I called it letting out emotions,

They called it self-harm.

I barely felt the sting,

When the razor cut again,

A line for each emotion,

And one just to feel again.

A sure sign of distress,

They called it.

My weekly ritual,

With the blade.

But, it kept me alive you see.

Letting go of emotion,

 with each drop of my red blood,

Instead of all at once with a jump.

My care avoided veins,

And kept the cuts shallow,

Hidden under band-aids,

From the eyes of my peers.

A show of blood was still better,

Than an outbreak of tears.