avatarJonathan Greene

Summary

"My Scars Are Unseen" is a reflective poem about the internal emotional struggles and unseen scars that one carries from past traumas, affecting their present life and identity.

Abstract

The poem "My Scars Are Unseen" delves into the personal and invisible battle scars of the poet, which are not visible to the outside world but deeply felt within. These scars are remnants of past losses and emotional wounds that continue to affect daily life, often leading to misunderstandings about the poet's emotional state. The poet describes a complex inner world where past and present continually clash, causing a conflicted emotional landscape. Despite appearing fine on the outside, the poet grapples with a profound sense of sadness and the challenge of reconciling their past experiences with their current identity. The poem conveys the struggle of living with these unseen scars and the difficulty of presenting a facade of normalcy while dealing with internal turmoil.

Opinions

  • The poet suggests that internal scars are as real and impactful as physical ones, despite their invisibility.
  • There is a sense of frustration or resignation that people assume the poet is fine because there are no visible signs of distress.
  • The poem reflects on the duality of presenting a composed exterior while internally dealing with a chaotic mix of emotions stemming from past traumas.
  • The poet expresses a yearning to be understood and acknowledged for the emotional pain they carry, rather than being perceived as simply unhappy or okay.
  • The poem indicates a struggle with identity, as the poet feels defined by their past traumas and the associated emotional scars, which overshadow their present self.
  • There is a acknowledgment of the therapeutic yet painful process of revisiting past experiences to understand oneself, which can lead to forgetting the present self.
  • The poet hints at a desire to move beyond the past and recognize that their loss is indeed in the past, suggesting a journey towards healing and acceptance.

My Scars Are Unseen

A Poem

Photo by Elisei Abiculesei on Unsplash

Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist These internal scars from past wounds that pulse inside of me as a reminder that all is not ok I am not ok just because I do life I do life to be ok

My scars are unseen Bumpy reminders of loss A braille version of watching death at the same time as watching hope float out of the window on a balloon along with the life of a parent and there went my childhood

My face is sometimes confused because it’s hard to be happy when you harbor so much pain and then it seems like I am somber when I am just a conflicted mess of past and present raging against each other while someone looks at me and again, thinks I’m unhappy

Maybe I am, maybe I’m not but it’s hard to feel fresh with these scars digging into me Pinpricks of sadness, one by one creating a map of melancholy that I walk through again and again to remember who I was which also makes me forget who I am and that I am actually here, living and breathing, and my loss is in the past

My scars are unseen so you think I should be fine because there are no physical identifiers to call me what I really am A very sad boy, dressed as a man just trying to wear the right face so no one knows about my scars It’s not working

© Jonathan Greene 2020

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Poetry
Emotions
Mental Health
Self-awareness
Past
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