Scar Topography

 Scar Typography

Are your scars pink? Are they white? Are they bright? Are they translucent in the light? Do they reflect the light?

What is the typography of your scars?

The typography of mine is a mix of fine white lines. Soon other lines will appear: one on my belly, and one on my head celebrating the one already there.

Is the typography of my scars beautiful? Is it fascinating because it is mine?

Scars thump with memories. They burst through the skin asking to be listened to. Scars are not to be contended with: they are always right because topography is a science, so there is truth to them.

Of course, the topography of scars brings out their stories. They are the outlines of scenes we trace with our finger, that we relive through touch.

Some scars are relegated to a spot under our hair or shirt...maybe beneath a collar. They only come out at night, and even then we ignore their thin calls. We cover them and then crawl into bed thinking we have erased them.

Are you proud of your topography? Of what it means, of its substance? Do your scars hold up your chin and head?

Maybe the secret is to listen to your scar stories and really wear them. Scars are indelible ownings, a typography of our nooks and cranies.

They are a map of who we are.

Text: Kristen Mastromarchi

Photo:"Ascuris Planum Topography" by sjrankin is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.