I have bruised and hidden the bruises
I have bruised and nursed my bruises
I have bruised and left them unattended
I have bruised and watched them heal

Maybe I bruise easily
Maybe I’m soft
I don’t know
But what I know is that I have a lot of bruises
Some of which leave scars behind
Both physical and emotional

My internal scars do not heal
They remain intact and no one can see them
No one knows they exist
The physical ones are bare
They are there for the whole world to see
And if I don’t hide them
They come with all sorts of questions
Questions I do not wish to answer

So I hide them
And put a wide fabricated smile on my face
But it fools them all
As far as they are concerned, I’m happy