I have all of these bruises
on my arms and legs
and this
high yellow birthmark
that rests at the cliff of my
thigh just before it dives into my
right knee,
and these black marks that
people have come to name
as a sign of beauty
(but that's not the case.)
They sit on my
right *******
and my right index
and my left pinky
and right above my upper lip
on the left side of my face-
all of which I constantly wonder
if they began to exist
only when I began to exist
or if they've been there all along
just waiting for my body
to peer into existence,
I really can't say
exactly when
all of these birthmarks
and beauty marks
and bruises
all
began to
exist
but I really do
wonder
about them.