The Pain Chronicles is a collection of short stories and essays about living with chronic pain written by medical students. This series will include four stories published over the month of September, in recognition of Pain Awareness Month. Our third installment is shared below.
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In the Land of Pain (inspired by Daudet’s work)
by Noor Taweh
There is no remorse in the land of pain,
only dissolution.
You trek alone,
drunk on the torture of it all
hoping someone may accidentally bear witness.
In the land of pain,
soul and body separate
for it’s the only way you know how.
You stand outside of your body,
shrugging at the lifelessness of this other self.
The other self seems at peace,
more artistic in their pain.
They carry it well
and they carry it lightly.
Perhaps there are flowers in their land of pain.
Are words actually any use to describe what pain,
or passion for that matter,
really feels like?
The words only come when everything is over,
and things have calmed down.
It is bearable,
and yet — you cannot bear it.
The whole ordeal is infiltration;
it seeps into your vision and into your bones.
It is complete derangement.
For those intoxicated by their illness,
I’ll tell you I understand.
I can only hope
you’ll grant me entry
to your land of pain.
It is in this land of pain,
where perhaps you will be revealed to me.
The journey is long,
and it is somber
but perhaps we will walk it together.
