Emergence.

Small, faint lines begin to appear,

Outline the curve of an ear.

Sketched all soft and hard to spy,

The brow comes first and then the eye.

Gradual shading in monotone,

Coaxes out the left cheekbone.

Lines come timid, pale and grey,

To depict each linking vertebrae.

Teeth settle sleepily in their gum,

As unruly strands of hair are spun.

The colour bleeds in shy and slow,

A dilute wash spreads from each toe,

Clothing knees and rinsing skin,

As hairs are stitched upon the chin.

Nails appear cautious, then pick up pace,

Lips swell soft upon the face.

Knuckles crinkle, ears fold,

Fingerprints harden in their mould.

As palms plumpen, veins drink with thirst

And shy birthmarks slowly burst

Across the skin their markings faint,

While freckles stain from 'neath their paint.

Porcelain layers, their varnish thin

Curl at the edges of each limb.

The chalked-in chest throws its first sigh

And quivers pink, awash with dye,

Then gushing down fast to expose each heel;

The first coat, hardened, begins to peel

And with each strip loosed, out froths fast

Pigment in floods, forming a cast

Of ochre, of turquoise, of scarlet, of jade,

As artilleries strengthen in pathways made

Of crimson, of claret, of puce, of maroon;

Capillaries form in teal commune.

Pallets of violet with cobalt hues

Stick to the skin, mapping a bruise,

Forming purple ink bubbles that pucker and burst;

The body drinks colour with porous thirst.

Indian green still forming and wet,

Cerise and citron outlined in jet,

Turkish rose and Persian blues,

Pigment throbs upwards and quickly imbrues

All that is left of a once dull complexion,

As out flows vivid, in passionate affection,

Neons pronounced and pastels neat

To dress the ankles and the feet,

In coffee, in opal, in fushia, in lime,

In emerald, in cyan, in mauve, in wine;

Shameless tones flaunt, overt and free.

Proud stains walk all over me.

My body emboldened, I clear the mist;

You see me in colours that don't exist.