From Hurting to Healing
A poem by Johnny Kovatch

From Hurting to Healing

You might not remember,
too young to recall,
but the body does, always did—
learned on your behalf
to show you how to adapt
before you came into your own,
worked backwards
from all your fashionable escapes.

Look, the body told you,
we’re never going to stop feeling—
let’s feel in the right direction.
Everything you’ve suppressed,
let’s invite to the surface—
all it needs is a little nudge.

Look, the body says, bringing you closer,
I’ve shielded you enough,
stepped in front
of every clean shot, center mass.
Let me show you what I can do
when we work as a team.

About the Author:

Johnny Kovatch’s commissioned work appears in PEN America’s anthology: The Sentences That Create Us. His novel, 59 Hours, was published by Simon & Schuster. His work has appeared in The Los Angeles Review, Barrow Street, Sou’wester, Cholla Needles, The Atticus Review, The Headlight Review and Why to These Rocks, an anthology celebrating fifty years of the Community of Writers. He is the founder of Unlock the Arts, a nonprofit based in Portland, Oregon, that specializes in expressive writing for system-impacted teens and adults. He splits his time between the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon and Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, California. 

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