Zuko’s Scar
her name is a nettle,
a trigger;
every time i see it
i still cringe—
there are some names
i can never like
tarnished by memories of you—
it’s been years,
and there are many oceans
parting us and many more moons;
yet the name natalie
still burns me like fire
leaves me with zuko’s scar
i want my honor back
yet somehow i know that is something
i must find for myself,
and it was nothing you could have ever
given me.
Linda M. Crate’s works have been published in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She is the author of six published chapbooks, and a micro-chap. She has a novel, also, called Phoenix Tears (Czykmate Productions, June 2018).
Chantarelle's Notebook 