I cannot find the words to speak

I cannot find the words to make you see

that the scars are anything but beauty?

Raised and dipped,

white and red,

visible and invisible

they tell my story,

a story of pain,

a story of terror,

a story of beauty despite

all the madness

all the fear

all the ridicule and neglect.

I write what I cannot say

upon my body

so I can breathe

and that to me is beauty,

pure and simple.