Wounded Healers

We have all been battered and bruised,

hollowed out, maybe reached throes

of despair. We’ve been overlooked,

passed by, others get chosen even when

we could do better, or so we think,

life isn’t fair, but we have survived.

We wear bandages to prove we have

not been unscathed even if no one notices.

Scars have made us stronger, more humble,

more compassionate to those who

still bear open gashes, who still

struggle to endure, to overcome.

Wounded healer is our call, our place

in this dog-eat-dog, overpowering world

we inhabit. We bring our warm touch,

our tender embrace to the burdened,

the forgotten, the broken-hearted.

We lift each other up and become one.