Today it’s a small snake. I wonder if it would help to give the pain an animal form each day. The small snake wraps itself from the bottom of my heel up the inside part of my left foot. I imagine it, green and scaly. Would it have little beady eyes? Would I think this tiny snake was sort of cute if it weren’t biting me with every step?
People who live with pain daily become connoisseurs. What form will it take on today? I like the animal imagery because it illustrates how pain becomes your companion. Sometimes it is a snail with its shell snuggled into that same spot. Other times, a hedgehog, with spikes to remind me of its presence. As others fade away, the pain is always there. My most reliable friend.
[Note: I realize this piece is a little overly-dramatic. I am leaving it as it stands because I like it this way and because sometimes life is genuinely like that, even if my life is, thank goodness, not usually like that. Maybe this is my yesterday, not my today. I didn’t have the words yesterday. They arrived today, so here they are. My blog, my rules.]