With these lines you did a tremendous job capturing with so few words the panalopy of causes that may hide beneath the surface as unresolved trauma and the memories of it stored in the body.

Yesterday I published an essay quoting several of the over 40 poignant journal entries from three women in Iran that the New York Times published a few days ago, along with my reactions and takeaways. One of the entries speaks to stored trauma: "On my way to the airport to go back to Iran, I wore a shawl around my neck so I wouldn’t have to look for it in my backpack when I arrived. Once I put the damn thing around my neck, my anxiety returned. I was still in Turkey, yet the stress crept back into my body." My essay contains a gift link (i.e., free for all to read) to the entire NYT article, which I hope people will read. Here's the link to my piece: https://marcus17043.medium.com/inspiring-words-from-women-facing-despair-with-hope-and-resilience-c04581932839

Another entry speaks to solidarity through shared experience, like how your raven comrade-in-arms has the wolf's back: "'Men and women are the same for us. We are all one.' His tone was serious. 'We stand in a line, one man and one woman, and hold each other’s hands. We are not men or women. We are brothers and sisters.'” My takeaway from that line was that all of humanity is one family.

Again connecting to your poem, another entry contains this message of compassion and empathy: "I hugged him and whispered in his ear: 'You will get through this. Don’t forget that our only weapon is our thick skin. Be a rhino!'”