You can’t have a rainbow without the rain

Droplets smashing paths of heavy destruction

Popping balloons of joy and leaving floods in their wake

You can’t have tattoos without scars

Artful lines of black spiraling across skin

Beautiful, but it’s angry and red and bleeding

You can’t have light without the dark

How do you appreciate something 

Without knowing it’s absence

You can’t have love without loss

We love fiercely without hesitation, we know

It all comes to an end in a flash

You can’t smile without knowing pain

Tears make the smile lines stand out against

Sunken eyes, you’ve lived life well

After all, what’s life without a little pain