they see my scars and ask ‘what are those?’
i tell them they are battle wounds,

they tell me they are ugly,
i tell them scars are not meant to be beautiful,
they’re meant to prove that i’ve existed

they tell me i can remove them from my skin
i tell them why remove a part of me
to look like somebody i never was?


-don’t belittle me for fighting through hard nights with steel