Fish Hook

10 years ago today you came to me, yet I knew not what you were

You knocked me down, pressed my face hard into the ground with your excruciating weight upon my back

I stood up, placed my feet humbly back on the ground

You shoved me hard

I shoved you back

I hid

You found me

I locked you up

You escaped

I fought 

You retreated

Sometimes we lost sight of each other

Freedom

But I still had lots to learn from you

And you still had lots to learn from me

10 years later you are nothing more than a fish-hook

Snagged intricately in the flesh upon my back

My hand can’t extend that far to remove you

Yet if it could, tearing your barb from my skin would probably mar me more than leaving it

So I leave it

I tolerate you

I know you are there

I handle you with caution, with care

But know this, ‘behind me you will stay’

You are no stranger to me

Nor my friend

You are no threat to me

Nor my fear

Control lies with me

I am power

You are just a fish-hook

You are just a fish-hook