This skin we're in protects / us, protects us, protects / against an exposure, /
however possible, / to ultraviolet / light, suntan and sunburn, /
in India, attacks / with sulfuric acid, / a corrosive agent, /
swift and silent bullets / search desperately to pierce / this skin we're in, no cure /
save to flay Marsyas / for hubris to challenge / a god, the penalty, /
kindness to remove flesh, / flayed alive for his pride, / his arrogance, to turn /
intelligence into / folly, this skin we're in / is overconfident, /
needless needles of shame, / prick at our pretensions, / humiliation, sin, /
weaving a tapestry, / we hang by a loose thread / to explain cruelty, /
even my friend, who hung / herself like a spider, / who could no longer breathe, /
remember this body, / this skin we're in, we face / the mirror, our temple, /
enshrined by the people, / we lie prostrate before / our reflection, we grieve /
insolent tears, our loss, / our youthful glow, beauty / dissolved by a pimple, /
not to discuss disgrace, / systemic racism, / this skin we're in, this skin. /
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