We write 'love' on our arms

I pray for strength
because time is not enough
because life throws hard punches
and I just want to punch back.

I have friends
who cut themselves,
to make the pain
more real.
And I think, "My god,
how beautiful,
this pain we call
'to feel.'"

I write love on
my arm
and on the arms
of others.
I see some scars
and I cry
a little
inside.
Not only because
I wasn't there
for them,
to stop them,
but also because I've
seen the abyss
from the bottom of it
and it's seen me,
and stared back.

And I wonder
what it was that
made them break
and why,
now,
we write 'love'
on our arms
as another way we can escape
with nothing more
that we'll have to explain-
in years in the future
to people we don't know now,
who might not understand-
since this is sending the same message,
but isn't as destructive.

Love is just a word
to send a message
about something
voiceless in its soul.
And I pray for strength
because
I want to see this through.