Catharsis

Milkshake Poem from Before Sunrise

when you say a great comeback without stuttering

You say I am shallow but you don’t know how many times I’ve drowned just looking at you.

I do not love your scars. I do not love that everyday you are reminded of sorrows and pain you hold so deeply burrowed in a box locked with a key you pretend you lost. I do not love your scars. I do not love the torment your mind has covered you in, the shrink wrap of anguish that a blade couldn’t remove. I do not love your scars. I do not love the sweat on your brow from suffocating wraps of fabric that keep you concealed, and that keep you safe. I do not love your scars. But I do love you. I love the way each scar attests to a day that you screamed to the world “I’m still here, and I won’t leave”, when it seemed hardest to stay. I do love you. I love when you allow your skin to shine, and all the world can see the strength in every mark that tried so hard to push you down but never could. I do love you. And if I could wish away every tiny line on your arms and legs, if that would liberate you from an addiction that keeps you awake with craving and fear, I would. I do not love your scars. But I love you. And you must stay. So the scars must too.