The Scars I Won’t Keep

They inscribed their name into the vulnerable parts of me, then left me to bleed in the wake of it. For years, I let their absence turn into resentment, picking at it until my hands were painted red. I was the dog chasing after a specter, snarling at mirages that never fought back. No longer. Let their transgressions rot where they were sown. I’m finished being the earth for someone else’s poison.