if it were not for my scars

I'd have no profile at all

no depth of character

no stories to retell

it's the wounds that built

my hide rough and rumbled

thick protective impenetrable

so I thank those who wounded me

deep lasting profound bottomless gashes

now made large by constant tearing off

of scabs not fully formed preventing

healing leaving marks like Cain

for all to see and know beware

stay away handcrafted leper