Visceral

Penetrating ache,

An electric turn of the stomach,

A knot in the throat,

Turbulence defines all,

Alone,

Without companion to understand,

The impossible faced,

Legs failed into tumble,

Today's internal battle is lost,

Maybe tomorrow will have mercy and not appear,

Pain cannot be sustained,

These tears will scar the skin.

Analysis

1. The Somatic Map of Grief

Penetrating ache, / An electric turn of the stomach, / A knot in the throat,

The poem begins not with thoughts, but with physicality. It maps out how high-intensity emotional pain manifests in the body.

• The word "electric" suggests a sudden, jolting shock to the nervous system.

• The "knot" and the "ache" describe the physical restriction of grief—the feeling of being unable to swallow or breathe properly. It frames the emotion as something that has hijacked the biological self.

2. The Isolation of the "Impossible"

Alone, / Without companion to understand, / The impossible faced,

This section highlights the specific loneliness of deep suffering. The speaker isn't just physically alone; they are existentially alone. There is a sense that the weight they are carrying is so unique or so heavy that no "companion" could possibly grasp its scale. By labeling the situation as "The impossible," the poet suggests that they have reached the edge of their coping capacity.

3. Total Collapse

Legs failed into tumble, / Today's internal battle is lost,

The imagery of the "tumble" represents a surrender of the will. The body can no longer support the weight of the mind. In the metaphor of the "internal battle," the speaker is admitting defeat. There is a brutal honesty here; it’s an acknowledgment that sometimes, despite our best efforts, we simply break.

4. The Rejection of Time

Maybe tomorrow will have mercy and not appear, / Pain cannot be sustained,

This is perhaps the darkest and most poignant part of the poem. The "mercy" the speaker asks for is for time to stop. When pain becomes unsustainable, the prospect of another day feels like a threat rather than a promise. It captures the "exhaustion of existing" where the future is viewed only as more time to suffer.

5. The Permanent Mark

These tears will scar the skin.

The poem ends with an image of irreversibility. Usually, tears wash away, leaving no trace. By saying they will "scar the skin," the poet suggests that this particular experience is so corrosive and so deep that the speaker will be permanently changed by it. It is an admission that they will never return to the person they were before this "battle."

Summary

This is a poem about Total Overwhelm. It captures the moment where resilience runs out and the only thing left is the raw, physical experience of pain. It doesn't offer a "silver lining" because, in the moment of a "tumble," no silver lining exists—there is only the impact.