Jessica Edmond - Made Pain Articulate
The Friday Feature
Made Pain Articulate
I learned early that pain gets misquoted.
So I taught it to speak clearly.
Not beautifully. Not bravely. Clearly.
With nouns that did not flinch and verbs that did not ask permission.
I stopped translating myself into something manageable.
I let sentences land where they landed and watched people adjust their posture in response.
Language is a tool. So is silence. I chose language.
I paid attention to what happens when a woman refuses metaphor as camouflage.
When she names the thing without flattery.
Or softens the ending for the sake of being invited back.
Accuracy does that.
It rearranges the room.
I wasn’t interested in being relatable.
What mattered was what happens when instinct is disciplined instead of diluted.
How feral learns syntax and keeps its teeth.
Some people mistake that for anger.
Others call it intensity.
A few recognize it for what it is and look away.
That’s fine.
Pain does not need a redemption arc.
It needs grammar and placement.
Said without asking whether it will be forgiven afterward.
I did not make art out of suffering.
I made suffering legible.
The rest is a side effect.
From the Press:
This body of work is not a performance piece. Edmond's voice is grounded while the poem reads like someone who knows exactly why they are speaking—and has already let go of the need to be received gently. That confidence doesn't feel hardened; it feels earned.
At the core of this piece, we find clarity about what happens when pain is allowed to speak as it is—not sugar coated for sweetness or reshaped for comfort. Jessica isn't interested in turning suffering into aesthetic. She gives it a structure.
One of the most compelling aspects of this piece is how she refuses to make herself manageable. It's a quiet recognition of how often women are expected to shift themselves into something that is easier to digest. It also notes the subtle changes when a woman stands firm that she refuses to water herself down in order to make her truth less bitter to swallow. This piece isn't an argument with that reality; it observes it.
Instinct and discipline coexist here. She refuses to dilute or restrain for the sake of politeness—to not bruise ego. Instead, she has made the deliberate choice of using language, sharpened without being rigid. She captures the balance of power shaped by choice, not surrendered beautifully.
This piece shows what it looks like when someone takes ownership of their experience and names it plainly.
About the Author:
Jessica Edmond is a writer whose work examines power, pain, and clarity without ornament. Her work resists metaphor as camouflage, favoring accuracy, restraint, and deliberate tension. She is interested in what language reveals when pain is made legible rather than palatable, and when silence is chosen with intent. She can be found on Instagram: @MischiefandRigor and on Bluesky: @Genesis-Pearl
