Pattern

Accustomed
(but not numb)
to the sensation,
this familiar division of
muscle and sinew
methodical,
damn near
ritualistic.

Trace the waxing and waning
like so much scar tissue,
the local area hardening
a little more
with every attempt
to recover
residual shrapnel.

Involuntary reactions leading to
inevitable consequences,
silver-plated-fodder
for the proverbial
glutton for punishment.

Nothing new under the sun
And certainly no unexpected results
from masochistic tendencies;
merely the crescendo
of an ongoing motif.