These are not just marks.
They are beauty on my body
that might not be understood,
that would have to fight for its place
between the judgment
and the opinions that are endured every day.
These are not just marks.
They are a self-discovery path
of what I am made of inside,
of what is shaping me,
and what I want tomorrow to be.
These are not just marks.
They are a beginning and an end,
the loss of the fear,
the release of assumptions,
the realization that it is right
to let pain ignite me.