Part One - Introduction

Just one of my poems I felt would be fitting to open this part of the book.

Tattoos and Scars

 

When I look at my hands

And the lines that are there

The lines that I drew with such graceful care

Pulling flesh taut

And stretching the skin

Brings back many memories that lie deep within

Roadmap of soul

Pathways of life

Whether they mark me by needle or knife

What was once there

Is now not the same

My skin is the picture, my body the frame

Of the life I have led

And memories within

Of tattoos and scars that cross over my skin

I remember this ankle

When I had it broken

A long summer longer when few words were spoken

Or this tattoo right here

On the back of my neck

When things had looked up, before they were wrecked

This time right here

These marks that you see

Each one is an anecdote of what has become me

But it is only flesh

And is only skin deep

Within my heart, will my secrets I keep