zenith of virtue

i am asked why my body is replete with tattoos. specifically on areas where people can't see, because most would rest them where others may admire them for their creativity, or be appalled by them.

i don't just put on tattoos. these are latin inscriptions, and insignias. i don't even call it art. because if i do, they would lose their meaning altogether.

every etched emblem and inscription is accompanied by a pensive account.

i have them carved in places unseen because of the fact that the crowd is fickle. they see such marks on a person and he is permanently labeled a grim individual. i don't need them to see, for they will not understand. if i have to explain myself to every idiot in the world it would take several of my lifetimes. and it still wouldn't be enough to convince them to see things properly.

"so why do it, ares?" a friend asks.

i do it because of one simple reason. i am an emotionally unstable individual. i am not disturbed, as there is a considerable difference between the two.

i am easily overturned by emotional pressure. thus, i become dominated by emotional stress. though i am aided by alcohol to initially drive away a small share of the aggravation, i am left wounded by the remaining throes, which i cannot easily ignore.

which is why i have resorted to marking myself. i discovered that emotional injury can be channeled through a different medium. and because physical pain can easily be endured, much less healed, i have finally understood why i have been blessed with heightened salubrity and learned how to put my innate fortitude to good use.

i have evolved like this because i have been denied the gift of retention. now my mind has adapted in such a way that i am forced to heedlessly value my active emotions to percentages high above what is considered natural.

all these years, i have been chastised by the times, i have become a bastion of resilience. all things i shall endure. eventhough my soul is failing.

my body, is the roadmap of pain. i'd blindly take on all kinds of physical injury even if it means sacrificing my health just to save my soul from affliction.

"quod me nutrit me detruit." - what nourishes me, destroys me.