Strong Medicine

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Guest Post by Inez Briley Taylor

For years I kept the title as Pain I-IV, then I was asked to read it aloud at different events. I grew from the inner realizations each time I read it aloud. The title changed to “Strong Medicine”. It represents the stages of spiritual unfoldment. Pain became a life-giving experience.

Strong Medicine

Pain I

To you
my pain is a mirror.
You see yourself reflected
somehow made more vulnerable and
either move toward me for comfort
or flee rapidly,
remembering too much, too soon.
But my circle is so big,
you are never outside it.
We do bear each other’s burdens after all.

Pain II

My internal clock is ticking
counting time,
like pennies left on the sidewalk,
no longer valued enough to be picked up.
Doing what is right is so far above
this second accumulator.
My eternal clock works
without time, above space,
where God is not small.
Where my pain is mirrored,
on its Golden Heart;
where we each lay bandages of compassion on each other,
sing love songs to God, and move on.

Pain III

Pain is such strong medicine.
It centers you down;
grabs you by the throat;
Shakes you like a dog.
Pain is such a friend
to hold me so close.  
“Pay attention,” it says.
“Get back to the edge of the road,
seize a new image,
another signature for yourself.”
Breathe in—breathe out,
rest in the rest points of eternity.

Pain IV

Pain is a lightning rod.
It moves down my right arm,
down my right leg.
I stand like a person
grounded by electricity.
What began as my pain
is now a vehicle to move
much suffering through my physical space,
purifying an entire area.
So I smile,
make time for myself
to drain the wounds of
unknown spiritual warriors around me;
transforming pain;
releasing it to spirit.
Letting the love flow in,
letting it go out
wherever it wills.

Inez Briley Taylor
originally 2011 then revised Nov 2023

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Inez Taylor is a retired Edmond, WA resident, AF veteran, who is a member of the Edmonds Poetry group. She is working on a collection of poems and memoirs. She enjoys other writing groups focused on spiritual writing. She has been published in myedmondsnews poet’s corner online and other newsletters and chapbooks.