find yourself

if you trace the ink in her skin

and go beyond the bruises on her knuckles

you can see what’s inside

you must travel over

the bones that protrude at her shoulders

and look past

the scars on her arm

what have you revealed?

is it what you hoped for?

is the truth any different than what you already saw?

you will come to find the scars go deeper

laced into every fiber of her spirit

the spiders of her life

spinning webs around in her DNA

this is where she cries out in agony

the pain too much to hold on to

so she screams it

and bleeds it out

this is where she stops herself in conversation

saves it for herself

or discards it completely

for it would not be received

or worse

it might become real

every dark place has it’s beauty

the nooks you have to know about to find them

here is a smile

when she watches the birds soar overhead

the firm grip of a paintbrush in her hand

as she creates her own reality

did you find what you were looking for?

an ounce of purity?

a dark secret?

or even yourself?