Damaged

I am wounded

I am damaged

I was born battered and maimed

Have never known a world without pain

My scars are a part of me, part of every single memory

I am wounded

Bruised

Of body and of soul

But my damage does not weaken me

It marks me, but it does not make me weak

My scars are not deformities

They too mark but do not lessen me

My wounds are the recompense of living

My blemishes and my scars are declaration that I am alive and that I have persevered

Not lessened

Not diluted

A still proud and defiant warrior

Of the wounded tribe

I have fought

I have endured

And I am not bowed

Nothing can wash these scars

Nothing can take these wounds

Away from me

They belong

They are mine

Am wounded

I am scarred

I am damaged

Yes

But I am nowhere near

Broken

The Web Projects of Sondra Ball and Mario Cavallini