Essential wounds

It's an old idea;
that wounds can heal much faster
when protective dressings
are removed,
when the self-constructed bandaids
that mask these gaping holes
are peeled away
(ripping as they go)
to expose what
-- at first glance --
may seem ugly or diseased
but, upon a closer look,
might prove to be
the womb in which
true self lies huddled,
waiting to be born.