Beauty Marks

I saw the tears start to fall

Like rain drops falling

During a savage storm

I saw the tears fall down your face

And through their shine

Could see all

I saw the pain, the hurt, the anger

But mostly, I saw your fear

That this is what life is

I saw their intent

I saw their path

There was no rainbow at the end

There was no gold to reclaim again

I saw your tears start to fall

Beauty marks

I felt your heart beat

Like the drums of a soldier

Before a battle

As he takes up arms to a cause

Not really understanding

But knowing he must fight

His heart beating in fear

His heart banging out his excitement

I saw a land without borders

As two armies faced on a field

The knives in your heart

Piercing through the sound

And rhythm of your heart

I felt your heart beat

Beauty marks

I heard your screams

Like the riot through the city

Fighting against hate, injustice

Pushing against the walls

Banging its fist on the bars of the cell

Never turning your cheek

Knowing the feel of the fist

You never turned down the volume

You never shut your eyes

Or turned my head away

You faced the crowd

You were not glass

You were steel

I heard your screams

Beauty marks

I watched you bleed

As you put the tip

To flesh

Pulling away

Feeling pain

Feeling release

Letting out the bad, the evil, the pain, the unjust

Leaving emptiness

Drops of red falling onto the virgin Earth

Staining the waters

Darkening the skies

You can't always see

The scarred remains of pain

I watched you bleed

Beauty marks

I ached in hunger with you

As you melted away

Starving, aching and in need

Reaching out for substance

Clutching only air

Gasping with need

Shining your searchlight

Into the darkness

But finding only night

Looking desperately

Needing even more

You bones shining through

You feel invisible

I ached with hunger with you

Beauty marks

I have been where you are before

I have walked the same path

The dirt worn by those before me

And those yet to come

I have felt the pain

Of losing who you are

Not recognizing anymore

The face in the mirror

Some wear their scars

Others have theirs hidden deep inside

It is not the loudest in the room

With the strength to carry the world

You do not need permission to feel

The world can hold more emotion than you know

I have been where you are before

Beauty marks

I saw the tears start to fall

I felt the heart beat

I heard the screams

I watched the blood spill

I ached inside and out with hunger

I have been there before

I felt the same pebble in my shoe

I felt the same fire singe my skin

I bled on the same battlefield

I prayed with the same whispered abandon

I screamed love but only heard the resounding echo

And still looked upon my scars

Holding them up to the mirror proud

These scars are not the end...they are beauty, strength, the beginning

Beauty marks