Thorns

* This was written for children as a way to understand and deal with their pain

…

There are thorns growing in my head,

sharp and spiky,

prickly and pointy,

that feels strong and mighty.

…

They take over my head,

all the way down to my feet.

They make me say and do things,

like nasty things to those I meet.

…

But I don’t mean to be mean.

I don’t want to hurt others.

I want to treat everyone

as if they’re my dear sisters and brothers.

…

But these thorns in my head

makes me hurt and angry inside

and I don’t know how to fix it,

and I can’t keep pushing it aside.

…

So I hit and I kick,

I shout and I cry,

I yell and I sulk,

and sometimes I even lie.

…

You try to hug the thorns away,

but they prick you too.

So you stop giving me hugs,

even though I really want you to.

…

I know my thorns may hurt you,

when you try to get close to me.

You then try to yell or stomp them out,

but they never seem to leave.

…

I carry these thorns with me

everywhere I go,

and as I grew older,

it made my mood so low.

…

Then one day I met a boy,

who also carried thorns in his head,

I watched him lash out at those he loved,

then later regret what he’d said.

…

I asked him why he carried his thorns,

and he cried saying he was sad.

In that moment I knew his sadness

was why he behaved so bad.

…

I felt his sadness as if it was my own,

and saw myself in him.

So I gave him the biggest hug I could,

and felt his sadness dim.

…

At first our thorns pricked each other,

and he tried to pull away,

but I assured him healing

will have pain along the way.

…

So we held each other,

thorns and all,

in kindness and care,

until fear held us no more.

…

A small flower started to grow

between the thorns in our head.

Then more and more flowers grew,

and inner joy started to spread.

…

I was no longer alone

and no longer afraid,

I was no longer stuck in my head

feeling only the hurt in my cave.

…

So I looked at my thorns,

the hurt from long, long ago,     

and forgave those who hurt me

and let all resentment go.

…

I forgave myself for hurting others

and promised to try to be kind,

so I no longer needed to hurt others

because I had a hurting mind.

…

Overtime I had enough flowers

and joy blossoming in my head,

to offer these joyful flowers

rather than thorns to others instead.

…

So if you have thorns growing

inside of your head,

know it’s because you’re hurting

and learn to grow flowers instead.