By Al Konda
From the upcoming book: Rising from Ashes ā A Journey Through Pain to Redemption
Some scars donāt screamāthey sing.
They hum low, like distant drums in the soul, echoing pain we tried to bury. Ashes on My Skin is a song for the scarredāfor the firewalkers who came through the blaze not untouched, but undefeated.
This poem was born out of reckoning. I looked at my pastācharred bridges, smoldering choicesāand instead of turning away, I touched the ash. It didnāt kill me. It told me I was still here.
I imagined this piece with a reggae heartbeat because I wanted something deeper than sorrow. I wanted movement. Something that could carry pain on its back and sway with it under a healing sun. Reggae gives grief a rhythm. It lets sorrow dance its way into freedom.
āAshes on my skināyeah, they tell the tale,
Of bridges burned and winds gone stale.ā
These lines open the song with honesty. They say: Iāve made mistakes. But they also say: Iām not afraid to face them anymore. Thereās something sacred in that kind of strengthānot shiny or triumphant, but earned in the dark, carved into the body like truth.
As the poem flows, it moves through silence, scars, trembling handsāand then, the climb. The quiet strength. The phoenix without glitter, but with gravity. A being who knows what it costs to rise.
This is not a song of perfection.
This is a song of survival.
And it belongs to anyone who ever tried to build a life from ashes.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for dancing with me in the flame.
ā Al Konda
š§ Watch the Video
šŗ Ashes on My Skin ā Official Poem/Song/Video
š Watch on YouTube
š Preorder the Book
Rising from Ashes ā A Journey Through Pain to Redemption
š Learn more or join the waitlist: https://alkonda.com
š¬ Your Turn
Have you ever worn ashes that told your story?
Share your āscar that singsā moment in the commentsāIād love to hear it.
š¬ Connect with Me
Al Konda ā Multilingual Poet & Storyteller
š§ Email: densartist@gmail.com
š Website: https://alkonda.com
šµ YouTube: youtube.com/@artistden2836
šø Instagram: @autoralkonda
šļø X (Twitter): @konda_al
š Facebook: facebook.com/alexalkonda
šµ TikTok: @al.konda
The Mythical Poet (Al Konda) is a Romanian-English poet whose work unites form and fire. He writes in rhyme and symbolism, insisting that poetry must sing, speak, structure, symbolize, strike, and bring joyāthe pillars of The Konda Principle, his philosophy of the art. Across 40+ books and countless performances, Al has cultivated a living, multimedia poetry: each poem arrives with a literary analysis, an essay for readers, a song or duet, and visual art bearing his sigil.
His mythic epic The Seer ā Deluxe Edition rekindles the ancient vocation of the poet as seer; A Name I Never Spoke and Flame Without Shadow explore love, devotion, and inner transformation; ongoing daily releases blend classical poetics with modern productionāYouTube premieres, blog essays, and social dialogues that invite audiences to sing the poem.
Alās stance is clear: craft is not a cage but a sanctuary; beauty is not a costume but a covenant. In an age of noise and spectacle, The Mythical Poet offers disciplined music, moral clarity, and the courage to turn sorrow into song.
Discover more at alkonda.com Ā· YouTube: @artistden2836 Ā· Instagram: @autoralkonda Ā· X: @konda_al.
