"Older Like You Mean It"
By K. Dexter
Nobody this age should be unscathed
There are reasons we arrived at this place
All the rites and marks
of experience weathered
well or not
doesn’t really matter
I would like to see your pits and tears
and know
That you lived
the way I have
Show me the uneven edges
where it is raw and red and stretched
we wont call it beautiful
we’ll call it what it is
Show me the loss
Show me where you died
Show me where you were born again
where you’ve been stitching and stitching
but it never seems to mend
If you are clean and whole
unwrinkled and unburnt
I must assume you are untouched
and should escape into the world
to earn your scrapes and bruises
There is no life
In the safety of clean skinNobody this age should be unscathed
There are reasons we arrived at this place
All the rites and marks
of experience weathered
well or not
doesn’t really matter
I would like to see your pits and tears
and know
That you lived
the way I have
Show me the uneven edges
where it is raw and red and stretched
we wont call it beautiful
we’ll call it what it is
Show me the loss
Show me where you died
Show me where you were born again
where you’ve been stitching and stitching
but it never seems to mend
If you are clean and whole
unwrinkled and unburnt
I must assume you are untouched
and should escape into the world
to earn your scrapes and bruises
There is no life
In the safety of clean skin
K. Dexter is a poet and former USMC Military Police Officer. Follow her here.
This week on the Savage Wonder podcast…
Ava Aston is an award winning Independent Recording Artist. She is the wife of a U.S. Air Force Veteran and the daughter of a former Purple Heart National Service Officer.
Ava is a passionate supporter of U.S. Veterans, Active Duty Military, Fire, Police and First Responders, as well as animal and humanitarian causes.
Born and raised in upstate New York where she was classically trained, Ava draws from a broad range of influences from Frank Sinatra and Doris Day all the way to the Goo Goo Dolls. Ava's latest release along with all her other music is available on iTunes.
In addition to performances at the White House Christmas Celebration, the Grand Ole Opry, Ava has sung the national anthem for the New York Mets, Giants, Rangers, Knicks, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Lakers, and Nashville Predators.
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