Skip to content
by Kyrsten Bowden
- The decorations of the human body or soul. Created by
Accident
Survival
or Choice
Bound to emotion, like kintsugi//understanding that damage becomes beauty.
- Not foul or ugly but rather full of history.//Each one different
Size
Shape
& Journey.
Fresh or part of the past//they last & linger//holding laughter, stupidity, or
sorrow.//They’re there for every tomorrow, whether physical or mental//stabbed through
seeping blood, or carved in bone, the heart remembers the piercing cold, the vorpal blade
winning the throne.//The brain echoes the pain, in reflex, in fear, & in vain.//The
unspoken pieces of the portrait matter//and DON’T let NOBODY shatter that
image//Hell-//In fact//let them chatter.//Those scars, those marks//they’ve carried you up
that Great Ladder.//Given you strength & passion//forged through pain turning into
action, moments etched where healing took some traction,
Some progress
Some reaction
Some caress
Some adaption
mapping out the lessons learned through trial & error.//They whisper where words failed &
actions prevailed.//These marks, they don’t ask for permission to stand out permanently
upon the surface.//They form from collision & friction.//Skin holding memory in pigment &
tension.//Truth pressed deep intently//but not gently
Not pretty
Not quiet
Not defiant
Not clean
Certainly not obscene,
but elegant & seen.//Proof you’ve endured this horrific scene of bodies breaking, silence
screaming, skin bleeding on tile, thoughts dancing.//Now glancing in the mirror, noticing
what you carry, embody,//tales written, not apology//survival marked//without modesty,
Scars
The natural tattoos
of the body