SCARRED

Have you seen the burn mark on my face?
Did you ask where it came from?
No.  No, you didn't.
Nobody did. Nobody noticed.

It took months to realize it wasn't there.
There was no mark. No mark on the outside.
I was the only thing facing the world.
The only thing brave enough, apparently.

All those scars I had hidden weren't even visible.
All along, they weren't on the surface to see.
That's why I got angry when no one gasped.
Because they hurt just the same.

Where were my medals?


-Bradford Peyton