"Scars"
                                    by Robert Brown

Imperfections
Those discolored lines of flesh
Jagged and torn
Evidence of something gone wrong
Or of a battle survived
Though not unscathed
Some say they are a badge of honor
A measure of toughness
A record of trials that can 
Never be forgotten
But what about the other scars?
The ones that run so deep
That they are hidden from everyone
But the one who bears them?

The mind is a wondrous thing
It allows us to see the world 
As we want it to be
As we can make it to be
To work through a problem
To find the solution to life's mysteries
Or just what to have for dinner
Logic unparalleled
But what happens when it is scarred
By some trauma that is just too
Horrible to recount so it gets
Buried deep inside
Hoping to never remember it
And yet it remains
Subconsciously influencing
Every action
Every interpretation
Waiting to reopen
At the worst possible time
Will sanity be the price to pay?

The soul is ephemeral
Wisps of ethereal substance
That can never be
Quantified objectively
Yet is so important
Because it is the core of our humanity
What gives us the ability to believe
In the unbelievable
To have faith
In what we may never see
But what happens when it is scarred
When belief and faith too often go
Unrecognized or unacknowledged
Every small damage
Every moment of doubt
Etched upon its very essence
Will eternity be the price to pay?

The heart is a machine
The only part of your body
That never rests
Ceaselessly pumping 
To keep you alive
Even the emotional heart
Is tireless
Seeking out those with whom
A connection can be made
Strengthening ties to the
People around you
And theirs to you
An interweaving web
So far reaching as to be 
Beyond scope
But what happens when it is scarred
By those to whom it has reached out
Callous indifference
Or unintentional denial
Both leave damage
That makes it harder to reach out
Shying away from being hurt
And dying inside
Until only a shell remains
Will happiness be the price to pay?

Mind, soul, and heart
They all bear scars 
Worse than anything the body
May sustain
So why are they so often
Overlooked
Or shoved away
To be forgotten?
We all bear these scars
To varying degrees
And we all cannot
Bear them alone
Perhaps one day
They too will be badges of honor
Instead of shame
But that day will only come
When we all make the effort
To heal within each other
What we are afraid of
In ourselves