Stretching the skin

**Stretching the Skin** Stretch the skin, peel back the veil, Beneath the layers, we are frail. In flesh and bone, the truth lies bare, Our hearts beat one, our breaths share air. We chase the rose, the gilded gleam, Hoping for more, for the grander dream. But strip the glamour, shed the pride, And find the sameness we all hide. Each soul wrapped in a fragile shell, Stories unique, yet we all swell With laughter, sorrow, joy, and pain— A constant pulse in life's refrain. Your skin is fair, mine, a darker shade, But peel it back, we're all unmade. No colors, borders, high or low, Only spirits bound to grow. We carve our names, we wear our masks, In endless search, relentless tasks. But skin is surface, an earthly art, It cannot cloak a human heart. So stretch the skin and you will see A mirrored self in you, in me. No walls, no fences in disguise, Just quiet truths behind our eyes. Let glamour fade, the sparkling dress, Embrace the raw, the humbleness. For deep within, we’re all the same, A single spark, a common flame. Rising up, we share the light, In darkest hours and in bright. A thousand forms, yet one refrain— To seek, to learn, to break