Thank you to Jack Caradoc at Dreich Magazine 

for publishing my poem.

The Beauty Of Skin

We know of skin, basically,

what it is and what it can do.

Conceived as a protector,

giving the ability to hold shape.

From cradles are birthed color combinations,

the widest possible varieties,

numbering in the thousands.

Appreciate the beauty of these complexions over vertebrae:

The pigment of a walnut wood carving;

A deep tone of beige, as the great plain of a desert;

Flaxen spun, or emerging as porcelain

like the stony part of bones;

The hue of natural linen

or luxurious silk;

Weathered shells;

Durable wool covering leather

along the spine. 

Sign designs etched upon,

tattoos inked within,

perhaps in ritual.

And, if we would believe optimistic testimony,

we’d find it all doubtlessly flattering

in notes of darkened, lightened personal vision.

We would know of skin 

as the instrument of biological music,

developing a never before held adoration

for the variegated of Earth’s most vital organs,

most servicable to each other,

offering cosmic appreciation.