Unmarked

There isn't a part of me unmarked by grease and dirt,

Deep in my skin it tunnels for fresh flesh,

No part of me unhurt,

Soft pale hands cupped with water can't clean me,

They say I am tainted broken needy,

My ocean eyes turning men beastly,

Crystals thaw like ice in my soul,

As I drift to a nicer place my body turns to yellow leaf,

Flipping and twisting on warm winds until I fall down the whale's blowhole,

Inside my mind is a body of water,

Inside the whale is me,

In the dark the rest of the world didn’t matter,

With each demon that called my name sweetly,

I take single steel steps to my slaughter,

How does one climb out the belly of the beast?

You start by waking up,

Moving one toe at a time washing away the grease with each soft breath,

Pour each shame into a golden cup,

Set it alight and burn the whales insides,

There isn't a part of me unmarked by love and happiness,

Behind each hateful thought are words of love,

Friends with dirty hands like mine reach out gentle with tenderness,

I am love,

I have loved lost hated and forgiven,

I am as human as you,

Wasted limbs of mine can finally move,

Part of me will always wear past scars,

Funny thing about skin that is also so wonderful,

Each passing day my cells destroyed made anew and turn to stars,

I hold worlds in my ocean eyes,

Not sin or lusty looks only certain unwanted eyes see,

I hold bright colours mass mammals and forgotten monsters,

I am an animal of beauty,

My mind alone the moon,

My form alone the sun,

My self-love alone the earth,

There isn't a part of me unmarked by beauty and freedom.

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Poem by C M. Valentine