day 261

for sale:
"golden skin"

imported from Cambodia
made in America
free
free shipping
will pay buyer to take off hands

your ancestors worked too hard in the killing fields for you to burn your skin like it is not temple.
your parents scold you  every summer for playing too long underneath the sun.
do not let it kiss you.
you are woman. you are not vulnerable to warmth. you build forest fires with your mouth. to speak. to pray.
some nights,
you pray to wash the bronze off your skin. it feels like turning sixteen and kissing your first girlfriend. not afraid to show you love the skin you live in, but suffocating yourself in the comfort of your own bedroom.
you pray to not burn.
to not let the flames on your tongue backfire onto an escape route.
you pray to speak with kindness.
let the hatred burn you inside out.
let the pride boil embarrassment.
you pray to wake up powdered geisha and small smile.
big eyes to build glass.
break porcelain.
wake up doll pretty.
lace and cold skin.
you are woman. you are not vulnerable to warmth.
cold lungs. breathe out Winter. ice cold.
no warmth in soul.
you've burned from the inside out.
imploding.
exploding.
fragile.
handle with care.
I pray to not break.
I pray to not burn.
pray to scrub and not scrub
scrub
stop scrubbing
careful with your hands.
your ancestors worked too hard in the killing fields for you to burn your skin like it is not temple.
pray to free the demons from your skin.
golden skin. sun kissed skin.
do not let it kiss you.
your first girlfriend kissed your hands until the callouses melted into your palms.
golden skin.
will pay buyer to take off hands.