There is a language the body speaks
that has no words,
only pulses—
sharp, dull, burning,
a drumbeat you never asked to hear.
It echoes through bone and breath,
turns minutes into mountains,
asks you to climb them barefoot
with no summit in sight.
And still—
somewhere beneath the ache,
your heart keeps a quieter rhythm.
Not louder, not stronger,
but stubborn.
It says: stay.
Stay through this wave
that feels like it will not break.
Stay through the tightening dark
that presses in at the edges.
Because even pain,
this loud, uninvited guest,
is not infinite.
It shifts.
It flickers.
It loosens its grip,
even if only for a moment—
a breath-sized opening,
a crack in the wall.
And in that crack,
there is something small but real:
air,
space,
the faint reminder
that your body is not your enemy—
only overwhelmed,
only trying, in its flawed way,
to speak.
So if all you can do is breathe,
then breathe.
If all you can do is endure this minute,
let that be enough.
You are still here
in the middle of it.
And that matters more
than the pain wants you to believe.
Thank-you for reading.
Brenda Marie
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This poetry is very meaningful to me, Brenda, because it expresses feelings to be absorbed and put to use.
Thank-you so much, Tim
My pleasure, Brenda. 😍
This will sound strange, but I woke up this morning with words coming to me composing a pain poem (a bad night), then I put it to one side as I stretched and breathed through the stiffness, got up, poured morning coffee, that’s my time to read – and its your poem! Wow, summed up perfectly. By the way there is something telepathic in your posts, you seem to often write on subjects my own thoughts are having ….! Thank you 💞
I don’t think it;s strange. I am sorry you were in pain. I wrote this because I was having a huge flare-up and write helps me get through them. Thank-you
This is breathtaking, Brenda. You’ve taken something as invisible as chronic pain or illness and given it a voice—raw, honest, and deeply tender. The shift from the body’s “loud, uninvited guest” to the heart’s “quieter rhythm” is nothing short of masterful. That line, “it says: stay”—it wrecked me in the best way. Thank you for writing what so many feel but can’t name. Please keep giving language to the wordless.
Thank-you so much
You are most welcome Brenda 🌷🤝
You are always welcome Brenda 🌷🤝