there should be one
right there

at the side of the chest

another by the arm, inches above the wrist

plenty on the back
and stomach
and legs

battle used to be brutal like that
(still is)

there should be a thousand little scars
for a thousand little stories
a thousand little failures
a thousand little losses

they have all been silenced by your skin,
like brittle pages fallen from a book
like leaves, dried up, that crumble with age,
gone forever

except

that you always remember the sound of making them
for centuries, you dream of the sound