A needle can cut deep,

I’ve cut myself once or twice without meaning to

nothing sharp ever means to cut you, it just happens

and I’ve cried over it more times than I can count

that harmless needle,

so small and so fragile

has stopped me from going out today

whether I am too fat, or too skinny, or too in-between

I can’t go far without taking that needle and etching out the lines on my belly

I want to hold myself

I want to hold the needle too

But you can’t hold both. Only one

So I hold the needle from time to time. Far longer than I should. I hold it and hold it and thread my pores together until I’m like Frankenstein’s monster

This is how bleeding leads to beauty