These are bruises from surgery. The two button-cuff bruises are from cannulas; I’ve no idea what the large one down the centre is. They don’t hurt and I’ve insta-filtered the fuck out of them to make a point. I’ve got visible physical marks and scars from injections, incisions, excisions, stitches and drains. Some hurt, some don’t and some are completely numb. Similarly, there are also sites of my body that, despite having no outward sign of trauma, are painful or have lost feeling altogether. Then there’s the mental distress of what happened immediately after surgery for which there is no discernible bodily wound. Here’s where I should insert a positive round-off, however, I really can’t be fucked. I’m forever grateful that the op itself went so well and to those who helped take care of me. But I am the embodiment of all that’s happened to me: good, bad and wrongly. All are interconnected; all need to be honoured.