Skin /skin/ 

Noun

The protective outer layer of skin 

The most superficial layer of the human body 

That “protects” you from the outside world 

The first thing observable to the human eye when you walk in a room 

The first layer of assumptions a person can make 

The first judgments that a person can make 

They judge upon the skin tone, they assume your character, education,

social class

They judge your background, assume your life story based on false stereotypes

They judge you upon your scars, they assume your life story

 Before they have even spoken to you or know your name  

The first thing you see when you wake up in the morning 

A reminder of everything that has happened 

The blemishes, the scars 

The things that we do 

The skin is what makes us visible to the world

Even when we want to disappear, it forces us to appear 

The skin the unfaced surface 

A barrier covering up who we are 

The skin the daily dress 

The unfakeable surface 

The skin the thing that holds your inner self 

The skin, the organ that holds your deepest secrets, deepest truths, deepest desires 

The skin that holds us in, keeps us contained, prevents us from revealing our deepest truths, the thing that prevents us from revealing who we are on the insides. 

The skin like the walls of a house, a shelter that protects us from the dangers of the outside world 

The skin that protects us from everything we don’t want to face 

The skin that holds our memories, holds memories of people who left, memories of who we used to be, memories of the most influential people in small places around, in boxes, on the walls

A house that will hold our memories forever, a house that holds your past, present and future.