One By One

My skin is pale.

My skin is freckled.

There are so many

 

scattered across my eyelids,

and my knees,

and my little toe.

 

They are miniscule imperfections,

and I like to hide behind them sometimes.

 

I can often spend hours

wondering what kind of picture my freckles could create

if I played Connect-The-Dot on my forearms.

 

I like to think

that maybe it would be a work of art

my body a unqualified canvas

 

and I imagine abstractions,

portraits of souls,

and patterns that become keys,

all speckled across my DNA.

 

This notion gives me hope

that I am more permanent

than my fleeting thoughts and actions,

 

and conclude that I must be lucky

that my canvas is not as devoid as others.

 

Freckles defining me,

One by one.

 

5/21/09