The Pain

 

The Pain

 

I feel a tender throb in my left eye

as if cotton balls are wrapped

in needles, pricking deep within.

The tender pain turns intense

as the cotton balls are removed

and lone needles resume their work,

pricking every minute.

With no mortal help,

I plead and pray to

the pain to let go.

At last, the pain ceases,

and I run outdoors

to see a lone coyote cooing

to her unrelenting mate

and my baby’s small feet

wrapped around sheets

before the pain comes back,

this time unrelenting and ruthless,

sealing my left eye to the

world forever.

 

 

Padmini Krishnan

 

Padmini Krishnan is from India and currently resides in Singapore. She writes haiku, free verse poetry, and short stories. Her works have appeared in Writing in a Woman's Voice, Under the Basho, Terror House Magazine, CafeLit, and Plum Tree Tavern among others. Her e-chapbook was recently published in Proletaria.