If Scars Could Glow
in the Dark...

Koren Frideres

If scars could glow in the dark… 

I would light up like a carnival. 

Catchy tunes blocked out by horror  

as I parade around in my own darkness. 

Questions filled with pity and sympathy 

do nothing to quell my brightness. 

To glow, you must first absorb light. 

I’ve had my share of kindness, 

but it’s the darkness I’ve endured that makes me glow. 

If scars could glow in the dark, 

would you finally see 

how my body logs your latest disappointments? 

I must have deserved it. 

Why else would you harm your own child? 

The lies I used to feed myself 

paired nicely with your venomous curses. 

Hungover and offering half-hearted apologies—  

it’s hard to take you seriously 

when your breath reeks of last night’s mistakes, 

exuding a bitterness too consuming to have come from any bottle. 

If scars could glow in the dark 

everyone would see 

how your frustrations illuminate my skin. 

Humanitarian by day, villain by night. 

No, nothing justifies why I’ve become a human glow stick. 

Crack me, again and again, I’ll glow even brighter. 

I fear my insides are toxic, so pray I don’t finally break. 

Reality sets in and the glow fades, 

leaving only my scars and I am 

hidden from the world again. 

If scars could glow in the dark… 

No, not this time. 

I will not let you claim this light anymore 

I will be brilliant— 

a light that is impossible to ignore, 

and I won’t glow because of you, 

but in spite of you.