Stretched

(Originally published by Fat Éire Magazine, Issue 1, 2022)

Pride is too short a word

For these pink lines

These soft abrasions

Exhaustion pulls apart

The woollen thread of my skin

Disappointment tears through

Trying to draw blood from foam

Regret pours salt into the wound

That has already closed up

Relief soothes the burns

That can be smothered

Gratitude binds together

What could have been worse

Hope connects stars that are found

Among a different kind of beauty

Pride is too simple a word

For my new body

But it will do for now