Lily May - Emerging to light

I wrap myself in bandages,
Choosing carefully what to hide,
But no matter how much I cover,
There’s always something they decide they don’t like.
Too much here, not enough there,
Too bold, too quiet, too much to bear.
So tell me, how much must I erase
Before you stop searching for a flaw in my place?
I could cover every inch,
Or leave myself exposed,
But people will always have an opinion
On a body that isn’t theirs to own.
So let them stare, let them speak,
I won’t keep changing what they critique.
The bandages may cover parts of me,
But they’ll never decide who I’m allowed to be.

Your mind feels like a room with no windows,
and your arms hang heavy, restricted by things
you could never explain out loud.
There are streaks all over you
marks of exhaustion, grief, survival
like evidence of battles fought silently beneath your skin.

Some pain does not bleed.
Some pain simply holds you still
while your thoughts beg to escape.