My Braille Biography






My Braille Biography


A blind lover's touch will read my story
Traced upon my body in the scars wrought by my life.
A soft caress of my cheek traces
The thin diagonal line earned by following blindly,
By trusting the untrustworthy.
As the melting icicle fades, its lesson does not.

My lover's hand meanders lower.
It traces the top of my breast and finds...imperfection--
A small thick scar that never should have been, but is now a battle scar.
Once a source of embarrassment, now a reminder
That I am strong.  That I am brave.  That I survived.

My lover's hand slides down to my belly
Where it crosses tracks
Jagged and thick, they are an eternal imperfection,
And a reminder of how I have been loved
By those who held me in my darkest hour,
Let me sob in their arms,
And thought no less of me.

My lover abandons my body, 
and sinks his fingers into my hair
And finds, something
Hard and foreign
A hidden life line
Buried beneath my treasured tresses
An X marks the top of my head 
from a barely remembered crisis
In which a mistake was made
And a life preserved.
A miracle in a pencil mark.

My scars create a tattooed map upon my skin;
-of trust
-of bravery
-of love
-of faith
My Braille biography        




Alison Roberts



Writing since the age of 7, Alison published her first poetry anthology in 2002 after earning a spot as a finalist in an International Society of Poets competition.  She co-authored “The Dichotomy Project” with Michael Leslie in 2010. She currently lives with her husband in Texas, and works as a middle school math teacher.

1 Comments

  1. The "C" word was once spoken only in the dead of night for fear of upsetting the spirits of good will. This poem is a strong effort to bring it out in the light and make it a dignified battle of love and understanding.

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