The Parts of Me That Are No More (Madison Elizabeth Holland- Lafayette, LA)

Sometimes I get phantom pains
From my wrist
The faint, thin lines
Grooves in my flesh
Horizontal, non-fatal
From the darkness inside
Throb with sudden painful clarity
Sharp, shooting digs
Tonight they whisper at me
Barely audible screams
"Remember who you are
Look at what you did
Your frailty manifest in us
We embody the pain within your soul
The tears from your heart
The weakness of your spirit"
Their message only calms me
Because that was another time
Another place and another me
I am different now
I am healed, whole, beautiful
The scars from my cuts refuse to fade
But add a depth to me
Marked in my skin but etched into my very core
These parts of me that are no more

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Ash Wednesday (Brian Falcon - New Orleans, LA)

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