For my Wednesday Muse prompt – A Beautiful Mess – on the art of kintsugi and healing. Also for Tuesday Toads Open Platform.
Beautiful Scars
“Writers remember everything…especially the hurts. Strip a writer to the buff, point to the scars, and he’ll tell you the story of each small one…the only real requirement is the ability to remember the story of every scar. Art consists of the persistence of memory.” ― Stephen King, Misery
I am a glass – dropped and shattered
but mended. I am filled with
water and wine.
I have been broken by others –
I have been left behind, forgotten,
thrown in the trash by those who do not care.
My hands are a map of scars –
from cuts and burns from years of being a chef.
My stomach has a long scar from
navel to pubis.
But I am mended –
the cracks mended by the gold of time.
I am beautiful with my scars.
I have made so many mistakes
and been hurt so many times
I am almost solid gold.
Almost…
kanzen sakura 
May 07, 2019 @ 13:19:40
Beautiful post, Kanzen – loved it.
May 07, 2019 @ 13:48:14
Thank you
May 07, 2019 @ 13:41:05
You are solid gold!!! No “maybe,” about it, Toni.
May 07, 2019 @ 13:47:57
Bless you Annell
May 07, 2019 @ 13:48:10
I LOVE the idea of those hard-won scars turning you more golden with the years. Awesome!
May 07, 2019 @ 13:51:43
Our scars do this to us all.
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May 07, 2019 @ 14:58:46
This is incredibly poignant in its portrayal of the scars and hurt that we carry with us. ❤️
May 07, 2019 @ 15:40:05
You always pick the perfect quotation to go with your own writing, and this one is ace. I appreciate the extended metaphor of the glass and the hands as maps of scars – a powerful combination. To me, you are solid gold, Toni.
May 07, 2019 @ 16:36:28
Thank you Kim. This means a lot coming from you.
May 07, 2019 @ 16:37:28
And the healing. Don’t forget the healing
May 08, 2019 @ 01:40:11
🙂
May 07, 2019 @ 15:43:11
yes the the pain if who we remember mixed in with joy..but usually it is the pain and scarring that resurfaces so quickly…bkm
May 07, 2019 @ 16:38:54
It depends on the person. I have passed beyind the state of akways feeling the pain instead if the healing
May 07, 2019 @ 16:09:14
I really love the thought and the process of mending, how turning the scars into beauty… i think the whole philosophy of that is crucial
May 07, 2019 @ 16:41:19
Yes. It is empowering. Instead of constantly moaning about the pain, focus on the healing
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May 07, 2019 @ 16:44:53
I love the part about being “almost solid gold.”
May 07, 2019 @ 16:52:29
Thank you. I think all of us are almost gold!
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May 07, 2019 @ 17:56:19
Such a wonderful thing to do with a broken object – and such a wonderful metaphor for a scarred (in various ways) human being. Yes, you shine with all that gold!
May 07, 2019 @ 18:48:35
As do you you solid gold woman!
May 07, 2019 @ 23:08:23
It reminds me of the Japanese tradition of mending cracks in pots with gold. I like the idea of a poem telling scar stories.
May 08, 2019 @ 03:40:06
Kintsugi…this is exactly what this poem is about. It was written for my Wednesday Muse poetry prompt which is, kintsugi.
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May 08, 2019 @ 04:25:53
This is a very significant analogy. I like the way you worked the comparison.
May 08, 2019 @ 04:31:43
Thank you
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May 08, 2019 @ 12:14:43
This is beautiful Toni! It sounds like you have been through so much but have survived with your heart still in place. I think that being gold in so many cracked places makes the heart a little more golden as well.
May 08, 2019 @ 12:27:24
Thank you Carrie. I don’t hug my pain to myself or use it as a shield. I learn and grow.
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May 08, 2019 @ 15:30:53
Cracks mended by the gold of time, beautiful!
May 08, 2019 @ 16:00:55
Thank you
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May 08, 2019 @ 19:21:10
That ending is just glorious! There is power and beauty and so much more… in looking at our scars for what they are: the treasures we’ve collected as we mend ourselves into a different kind of wholeness.
May 09, 2019 @ 06:42:47
Funny that I can remember how every visible scar was made, but I can hardly recall the invisible ones.
May 10, 2019 @ 16:03:48
Wonderful, Toni. You are edged in gold!
May 10, 2019 @ 17:26:00
I think we all are at this point! 😊
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May 11, 2019 @ 09:29:05
Wonderful. Carry them, sit with them, they are you
May 11, 2019 @ 16:02:36
🙂 ❤
Jul 02, 2019 @ 11:49:37
Wonderful post!