This semester, I took a poetry workshop as one of my classes. Even though the main reason I took it was that one of the classes I wanted to take was full by the time I was set to register, I really liked writing poetry and wanted to write more of it.
I ended up falling back in love with writing poetry and did pretty well in the class. This was one of the poems I wrote for the class. I initially wrote it late at night and submitted it for the workshop because I liked the idea of the poem, but I knew it needed work. I ended up reworking it for my final, and it turned out pretty well. Here it is for all of you.
Pale
I used to mock the people who tanned
Questioned why they wanted to look that way
Questioned why they wanted to harm their skin
Mocked the ones that looked orange
I used to love my skin
Loved the way it shone in the light
Loved how soft it felt against my sheets
I used to love pale
I used to love my skin
Loved how it looked with my dark hair
Realized how washed-out I looked
I started to hate pale
Now
I see how everything sticks out
I see those dark marks under my eyes
Still not sure of where they came from
Or if they'll go away
I see those greasy bumps
Appearing nonstop
Like snow-capped mountains
I see scabs and red patches
That always show up
When those greasy bumps leave
This is hard to cover up with makeup
This doesn't look good in fluorescent light
This doesn't look good in a mirror
Or through an iPhone camera
I can feel people's eyes
Staring at my flaws
Quietly judging me
It's karma
I see why people tan
Why they want to hide
Why they need that layer
Why they hate being pale