The Number That Have Hurt Me (2023/03/05)

The numbers I remember
are the ones that have hurt me.

Eight years, five years, four years -
a date, a year, a number to restart
the course of my life, flip it on its head,
invert my insides so.

A wound carved into a bottomless chasm,
presented as a mere figure.
So much time has passed, and yet so little.
How many more years do I wait to forget?

I remember the departure dates
of forgotten faces.
I remember the months and years
of when I was hurt and failed to forgive,
of when I hurt and was forgiven.

A number, just a number,
numbers that mean everything to me.