Birthmarks And Other Signs
According to hearsay, my entrance into the world was bumpy. On the way out, and without the map, I conked my head on the tunnel wall. By the time the historical photos are taken there’s a fist-sized red lump affixed to my forehead, suitable for framing. Click.
Luckily, the cold fluorescent hospital lighting enhances the birthmarks on my lip, distracting the eye from the head thing in the photo. Whoever started the rumor that babies are cute? Maybe they are, but only in 1883 illustrated soap advertisements.
I went on to survive my birth. The noggin bump eventually receded but the birthmarks remain—a natural Modern Art tattoo. Those who notice the red splotches most likely assume I’ve been recently hit in the face or that a transmittable virus is involved. But it’s not my job to convince or explain to people when I don’t cover it up with lipstick. To heck with it, let people think what they will. We’re all human and our conclusions are rarely based on reality anyway. For me, it was sixth grade before I noticed the lip marks. Sometimes we don’t see aspects about ourselves that the whole rest of Earth's population notices. Sometimes it takes a basketball in the mouth during gym class and a running to the mirror to notice something like a birthmark. Sometimes it takes decades of intermittent comments from friends and strangers that a continual cold is, in fact, most likely allergies. Sometimes it takes being helped along by others to see a truth about our self. Most times it does. Always, it does.
Luckily, the cold fluorescent hospital lighting enhances the birthmarks on my lip, distracting the eye from the head thing in the photo. Whoever started the rumor that babies are cute? Maybe they are, but only in 1883 illustrated soap advertisements.
I went on to survive my birth. The noggin bump eventually receded but the birthmarks remain—a natural Modern Art tattoo. Those who notice the red splotches most likely assume I’ve been recently hit in the face or that a transmittable virus is involved. But it’s not my job to convince or explain to people when I don’t cover it up with lipstick. To heck with it, let people think what they will. We’re all human and our conclusions are rarely based on reality anyway. For me, it was sixth grade before I noticed the lip marks. Sometimes we don’t see aspects about ourselves that the whole rest of Earth's population notices. Sometimes it takes a basketball in the mouth during gym class and a running to the mirror to notice something like a birthmark. Sometimes it takes decades of intermittent comments from friends and strangers that a continual cold is, in fact, most likely allergies. Sometimes it takes being helped along by others to see a truth about our self. Most times it does. Always, it does.
Comments