Hidden Scars

I learned how to smile when the room got quiet,

Learned how to say “I’m fine” when I couldn’t hide it.

Long sleeves in the summer, keeping secrets underneath,

A whole war on my skin that nobody could see.

I got good at laughing when I wanted to break,

Good at looking alive while I faded away.

Everybody saw the person I pretended to be,

Nobody saw the scars staring back at me.

And I kept every memory locked behind my teeth,

Every wound had a story that I never could speak.

These are my hidden scars,

The pieces of a war.

You can’t see them from the outside,

But they still know what they’re for.

I’m more than what has hurt me,

More than what I couldn’t say.

I carry every broken part

And still wake up every day.

There were nights I felt like I was disappearing,

Staring at the ceiling, wishing someone could hear me.

I wore my pain beneath my clothes like armor,

Trying to survive everything that made me harder.

I thought the scars meant I was damaged beyond repair,

Thought nobody could love what I carried in there.

But time started teaching what pain never could:

That surviving the dark doesn’t mean you’re no good.

So if you see the smile, know it wasn’t always easy,

There’s a thousand untold stories underneath me.

These are my hidden scars,

The pieces of a war.

You can’t see them from the outside,

But they still know what they’re for.

I’m more than what has hurt me,

More than what I couldn’t say.

I carry every broken part

And still wake up every day.

I’M STILL HERE!

After everything that tried to take me down.

I’M STILL HERE!

Even when I couldn’t make a sound.

You can call me broken,

You can call me changed—

But I refuse to let my past

Be the name that I’m engraved.

These are my hidden scars,

But they don’t own me anymore.

They’re reminders I survived

Every night I thought I’d lose the war.

I’m more than what has hurt me,

More than every yesterday.

I carry every broken part

And turn it into strength today.

So if you see me smiling,

Know I fought to get this far.

You may never see the whole story—

But you’ll know I’m still here,

Hidden scars and all.