Hurt People Hurt People Poem by Patrick Monamodi

Pain is a chain, I say-
threading down generations like an inheritance
Guilt wrapped in silence and sealed with shame.

Born into broken echoes,
raised on limping love; on anger that wears the father's face; that hurts

Mothers bleed in kitchens
and smile at church.
Dads drink apologies
but speak in fists.

I too —
I learned that touch could sting
before I ever knew it could soothe.

Now I flinch at kindness,
snap before I'm spoken to.
I've built walls out of warnings,
told stories that don't end in peace.
Not because I want to destroy—
but because I was never taught to build.

Yes, hurt people hurt people.
But healed people can heal people

That is why I write
I want to speak pain chains loose