Masochism Poem by RIC BASTASA

when you pinch me
i thank you
i feel the pain and it assures me
i am alive

when you say the words too unkind
i reflect and the words confront me like a flood
rushing inside my throat
and i grapple with my hands holding upon life
i am drowning
but not calling for any help
i rise as a survivor
my lungs stronger than before

when you left me
i thought the pain is like an earthquake
intensity 12
i am shaken and some parts of me fell
i thought i am buried on the chasm of extreme loneliness
they say i am beyond recovery
all pieces gone
but i pick them all and piece them all together
torn but not destroyed
i am back as a piece of art

when you come back
you ask me who i am
i told you another name
i am the masochist reconstructed

i was once your lover
and i thank you for everything