this feels better than it would’ve
if I stood still in the dark,
and loved the delusions
like the narcissist in me wouldbut I have to say,
I played it off well —
the feeling of having
paper cuts from a book
that I just can’t stop reading,
where every page
would tear down all the tears
that are left in my eyes
Explanation: "Paper Cuts" summarizes everything the persona in this series of poems has experienced. Paper cuts connote scars, but is something that you can only do to yourself. We can assume that the speaker's downfalls are a result of the things he did to himself. The poem can also be understood on its own by examining the roots of delusions. Furthermore, the poem tackles mental health. Regardless, the speaker remains to be resilient, describing this process as something that "he can't stop reading" in spite of the pain (or something he has to go through) in lines 6-9. And this gradual suffering is something he would go though until it no longer hurts; In which case, he needs to seek for help and rewind. Overall, this short poem is highly ambiguous and open-ended.
Rewind
a collection of poems
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are original works of Joaquin Arig