Tiger stripes up my arm
Crawling, spreading, transforming
I remember the day when I got
My tiger stripes

It was a day of anger
Rage was a magenta purple and my tears
Ran navy blue onto my white skin
Leaving silver trails of silence

Crosses of orange and black emerging from
Stripes smudging red
Flames feeding on my skin
Burning memories into my body

The tiger stripes are uneven
Some stronger, bolder
Than others which fade and die
But they some still show,
reminding me of the day when I gave myself tiger stripes