For Beauty's Sake

“We must see all scars as beauty.... a scar does not form on the dying. “
- Chris Cleave


Bring the Band-Aids and gauze
the Vaseline and iodine
let’s see this open wound,
this gap between
one side and another
how we can stitch it up
smooth the edges, once again
make sure there are no tears that show
discoloration or indentations
bring the adhesive tape
and soapy water and let’s wash it clean
bring the tweezers and magnifying glass
let’s see what we can do to
make it look like nothing ever touched
this elbow or shin or eyelid skin
give me the Neosporin, let's rub it in
disinfect the nasty scrapes and bruises,
pretend nothing ever bent us to our knees,
turned our stomachs inside out
and our souls didn't flee
even for that small second
from something it could not comprehend;
and for that one doubting moment, we
didn't once think of ourselves as deserving
of a scar-maker we sometimes loved
sometimes didn't know
sometimes we had control
and sometimes, no control
when their own despicable scar
could find no peace
and transferred itself to us instead
like a gift.