People always ask me,
why some of my scars
actually spell out words.
I tell them that maybe,
just maybe,
if those words are
forever on my body
they may someday mean
something to me again.

That maybe one day
I really will have been
strong.
Strong enough not to break,
or maybe strong enough to push him away.
And maybe someday it will count that I said
No!
Or maybe people will stop telling me
that I was asking for it
or trying to tell me that it never happened.

Because maybe if I cut those words
deep into my canvas
others will read them
and think that I am
strong.
And maybe if I write enough
and repeat the word
no,
people will finally understand
the power of a word.

Because maybe I could change their minds,
change their minds about strength,
and rape
and what the word no means.
Because if their actions and words,
have power and strength,
shouldn’t mine too?