Marked For Life Poem by Liilia Talts Morrison

My skin does not display tattoos
Nor piercing dot my nose
I may look like a passerby
But I am marked for life

My leg does not show branding scars
Nor handcuff scabs on wrists
No blisters dot my even skin
Nor scars from jail melees
I may look like a passerby
But I am marked for life

I do not limp from twisted bones
No beatings from man's hand
My knees have not felt pilgrim pain
From climbing Mount Royal
I may look like a passerby
But I am marked for life

You cannot see my heart or soul
Nor comprehend my yoke
Though on the outside I am free
Of earthly signs or bonds
I may look like a passerby
But I am marked for life

One night the Lord asked me to serve
And I have done so since
I still look like a passerby
But God has marked my life.