Scars

Wrapped up emotions deep buried

Shoved away carefully in a dark niche

The shame still haunts

The humiliation still daunts

They were wounds of the past

They stung and burned

You bandaged them and covered them up

Wiped the tears off

And faced the world

But they left a scar

A wretched scab

An eternal reminder

Of the shameful past

They looked like they healed

But one scratch on the surface

Was all that it took

One scratch on the surface

And the wound was fresh again

Emotions came surging back

Back from their dark alcove

They brought the pain along with them

The mind replayed it all over again

The hurt. The tears.

You cringed.

Shame came first;

Hurt came next

But then came the moment

Of cold numbness

As the anaesthesia of acceptance

Slowly worked its way in

You saw yourself more clearly

As light entered the wound
Now the scars stand as a souvenir

A testimony to the struggle

The struggle to forgive;

The struggle to accept the past

The struggle to renew the hope

And the struggle to let go

The scars stand firm

A reminder that it was real

A reminder that you healed

A reminder that despite all the odds

You're still here; you survived.