My stomach curls

As my sleeve roll up,

Every line, a tear-welling reminder.

When life was barely life,

A whisper of a year I’d like to forget,

The vision of my moms twisted frown.

My head pounds and my eyes blur,

My fingers trace the imperfect lines.

They resurface as memories,

Littered across my skin in the shape of shame.

Old as well as older,

Tales of a lifetime ago

Reminds me that I will heal

Just like the skin under my sleeve