Scars are

Life is a path you must walk

Even on the days your back is weary

And the souls of your feet may be bleeding

From the torn shards of stone

Littering that desolate beach where you walked

Alone

Mistakenly seeking redemption

The burden of your soul

Is yours to carry

You cannot expect another to assume it

But there are those who will

Help you to become stronger rather than

Weaker in the bearing of it

This I know

Pain is pain is pain

Do not deny it or run away

Or go to those invested in the numb

Who will only toss you meaningless crumbs

Or worse still abandon you

Even if it aches

Know you can integrate the pain

And not turn it into unnecessary shame

That you use like blade

To cut the very best of you

Out of your own heart

For the truth is that scars are scars

Were once deep wounds

That hurt

And now remain

As living proof itched into tissue

Of the truth you lived

To tell the

Bittersweet tale of