Scapular Burning

What are we but relics

of time gone by

Where painful encounters

stay undenied

The wounds may scar over

but never heal

As memory is martyred

its blood congealed

New skin tries to cover

what sutures can’t hide

Each moment recovered

a falsehood decried

With strength built on pillars

of fortunes disdain

From deep in the shadows

—our essence remains

(Dreamsleep: January, 2023)