The Scars of Words

Dear Delyara, They tell you that "sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will never hurt you." That is the biggest lie ever told. Bones heal in six weeks, but a word can sit in your soul for thirty years, poisoning everything you try to build. I’ve spent my life trying to scrub the names they called me off my skin. I’ve tried to drown out their laughter with my own success, but in the quiet moments, I still hear them. Tonight, I am writing those words down for the very last time. I’m not writing them to remember; I’m writing them to execute them. I am putting them on this paper and I am leaving them in the dark. I am reclaiming the space in my head they’ve been occupying for free. I am my own master now, and my voice is the only one that carries any weight in this sanctuary.