SPOTS AND SCARS

We all have stripes and spots

like prowling jungle cats,

folds and crinkles

like memoir pages.

She may hide hers

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in the wash of careful

body colors and paints.

He may cover his

with the smooth

folds of cotton and

rich buttons.

But the tigers don’t

devour their stripes

and the pages mean

nothing bare.

Some stories are etched

in wrinkle and scar.