Skins (Relive)

Written in May 2008.

She is more air than muscle,

skin stretched thin over protruding

bones. Lost in her world,

the one confined within her head,

she has no concept of reality,

of her body’s needs,

or of me.

 

She changes her skin

more often than most change

their clothes. Throwing one identity

into the trash when she begins

to find it’s faults, pulling

on a new one as if she were

putting on armor and readying for war.

 

Lost in her mind,

protected by the shields of false

and fleeting character,

she hides from me. And I am forever unable

to relive the sweet butterfly

touches of her lips against mine

as we whisper infinities and

impossibilities in the dark

dreaming of a world where

the skin we’re  born with is enough.

Reviews

[Constance]

This is a wonderful poem for a few reasons: First and foremost, the metaphor is fluently portrayed throughout the entire piece. Then, though it is free verse, it maintains a sort of flow and structure that are easily followed. Lastly, it leaves one with a potent sense of the emotion portrayed, long after the poem has been read. The only thing I see is that the punctuation could be done more effectively in the second stanza. It is really all one sentence, and has become fragments. That being said, it is wonderful and fluent, just like it is.
Thank you so much for posting it for us to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece.

[Legion]

"putting on armor and reading for war." - did you mean "reading" or "readying"? I like the way you describe this person (the wording, not the person herself). You have a talent for the visual and creating the longing at the end. Kudos.

[Anna]

Very nicely done!