The length of time it takes
a solitary hair
to peek out
from beneath scar tissue
measures the distance of memories--

the two years that I barely was scraping by
and the tears I cried
are now absorbed into scar tissue
that I earned,
that turned Sunday mornings in my mind
into an exclamation
that now marks my skin.

The bottled images
from the time I first tried
to kick open the door
and start "real life"
are rolled up now
and safely confined,
afloat off the coast
of this permanent island.

12/04/2005

Author's Note: On the day before I moved back home after living for two years in Kansas City, I got a huge scar on my shin from playing basketball. Strangely enough, it is shaped strikingly like an upside down exclamation mark.

It's been three months, and, as you can probably imagine, there are a few hairs growing out of it now. Gross, huh?

Posted on 12/04/2005
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