-Childhood Shadows-
I was small, hiding in plain sight,
my brother’s hands crossing lines I couldn’t name.
Fear lived in my bones,
and silence became my only armor.
Mother caught him, rage flaring,
almost breaking him with her own hands,
yet the years he was gone were only temporary.
When he returned, words of apology softened the air,
but I swallowed every emotion,
locked my voice in a chest of fear,
keeping our fragile family from crumbling.
-Carving Pain into Skin-
Adolescence came like a storm,
self harm tracing rivers of sorrow down my arms.
I thought love could save me
hearts I trusted shattered like glass.
Grandmother passed before I could say goodbye,
leaving grief curling around my chest.
Whispers and lies spread like wildfire,
friends turning their backs at someone else’s bidding.
False hope flickered in the eyes of another,
but the scars of the past clung tight,
teaching me that pain could be both refuge and cage.
-Loss and Panic-
Stepfather gone, a week of silence,
and my brother returned, shadowed and unwelcome.
Panic clawed at my throat,
and hospital walls became a cage for trembling hands.
A note, simple and desperate, asking him to leave me alone,
betrayed when my mother gave it to him.
He packed, left, yet I was forced into a family meeting
his apologies spilled like water,
but I could not forgive.
His absence was still presence,
a day later, a text:
“Because of you, your brother is homeless."
Pain twisted into my skin,
and I carved again to keep the agony inside,
hospital walls embracing me like old friends.
-Broken Doors, Fragile Shelter-
Returning home, he was back,
my door removed, privacy stripped away.
I left, prepared for homelessness,
but ex’s family extended hands,
gave me a place where I could breathe.
Love turned sour in the household I thought safe,
verbal abuse echoing through empty halls.
Cousins I trusted lied, playing games with truth,
and I learned that survival meant cutting ties
even with blood, even with family.
Now I live with a friend,
the air lighter, but still heavy with caution.
-The Present Struggle-
Life steadied, fragile as glass,
until work hours slipped, income waned,
and bills rose like walls I couldn’t climb.
Stress pressed, deadlines whispered threats,
yet I stand, scarred but defiant,
each mark a map of battles survived.
Every heartbeat a declaration:
I endured the worst,
I carried grief too heavy for my age,
I survived betrayal, heartbreak, loss,
and I continue walking forward.
-Endurance and Reflection-
I am the sum of pain and resilience,
a life carved by shadows, yet touched by flickers of light.
Lessons written in scars and empty rooms,
in hospital beds and broken doors.
I have loved, lost, and been broken,
yet here I am, standing.
Every scar a story, every tear a truth,
every breath a reminder...
I am not my trauma,
but I am its survivor.
This is my scars.
