Skin

I've dug my fingernails

into my flesh

I've scratched off itches

with skin cells

:

I've watched needles plunge

into my skin

to draw vials of blood

to deposit tapestries of ink

:

I've fallen off my blades

head first

scraped the skin off my lips

and forged scars

i'll never forget

:

I've burned my skin

in the summer's sun

and in my own kitchen

Sun bathing

and skin scathing

teach you to never

play with fire for fun

:

I've watched my skin shed

like a snake

when the leaves change

I've regrown bodies

worth of skin

Again and again

:

They say every 7 years

all your skin cells regenerate

and the skin you wear now

is entirely new

from the skin you worn then

:

Yet the last 7 years

I've worn 5

fresh sets

of skin

:

When it's time

for my soul to change

my body aligns

my skin dies

then regenerates

:

It's the genius of my biology

that realizes

we can't keep walking

another day in this form

in this expired shape

:

We are water

with each new form

we transform

we change shape

:

Like the phoenix

my nerves feel the fire

my skin turns to ash

and my spirit is reborn

into a new body

with new flesh

:

Allow me to introduce myself

because you once knew who I was

but the person wearing this skin

you haven’t met yet