Owning Our Scars – A Poem

Owning Our Scars

we walk into the world unblemished,
but we soon find that the world lashes out.
not a life passes
in which a cut is not felt–
be it as light as a paper
or as deep as a sword–
leaving us with unshakeable scars.

so we skulk in the shadows,
slather on cosmetics,
and try to hide the brutal but beautiful
reality that we are all broken.
we are all scarred.

the choice we have is to wear our scars proudly.
not to hide,
but to show that no matter what it does to us,
greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world.

and all scars are precious in his eyes,
because scars speak of pain, yes,
and scars speak of brokenness,
but also of survival and triumph,
victory in the face of adversity.

there is a strength that comes from scars
that we do not find any other way.

so let us embrace our scars,
let us run and jump and dance,
and bear our scars to the world.
let us rejoice that we are free
from hiding, free from shame.

we will turn our jagged faces and battered bodies
to the sunlit sky,
smiling and singing.
owning our scars,
for the scars of the world do not own us.

Photo by Adobe Stock/sparky