underside

What color the underside of skin?

Mark Doty

asks mr doty in his

lines about a crab

but really i think

it's about what

                       we

hide

the wobbly skin that

sags with age, the

wrinkles we cover

with chemically

created concoctions

none of it works,

says a gorgeous

grandmother pushing

her grandbaby

down the pharmacy

aisle today

but really i mr doty

is talking about

soul scars, the

ones we cover up

with pithy sayings

about resilience

and the gold medal

for pretending she's

ok when inside she's

silently dying goes to...

many flailing limbs

would fly up, i suppose

but really there is no

contest, why not just

stop? all of us?

and show the underside

of skin?

stop pretending to

be one sole voice that

is able to push through

any adversity?

maybe some can and

good for them, well

done, but i'm not

one of them, my underside

is a rainbow

part neon, part muted,

part at times invisible

but i'm trying, i'm

starting, to

check it out

in the mirror

at

night

when no one else

can see