The face behind the makeup

You want to see me naked?
want to satisfy your curiosity for the location of all my freckles, tan lines and scars
but I can guarantee that my most jagged scars aren't anywhere you can see
They're stiched into the back of my retinas and scratched into the bones behind my eardums
the worst ones? they hide in the grooves of my fingerprints because they've long been part of the defining lines of my identity
you want to know me naked
want to know where my legs come up to meet my hips and be locked
in a ball and socket joint embrace
see how the skin on my side shimmers like the northern lights like vivid gauzy scraps of silk
you want to know the secrets hidden by cotton clothes
You want to see me exposed, stripped down, completely bare
unprotected and trusting.

Okay. I'll show you. me at my most intimate.
just close your eyes
and listen to my words.
I'll peel off every layer of the bullshit facade that I put up on a daily basis
I'll show you all the hidden chapters of my storyline that have been scribbled onto cocktail napkins and hotel paper
I've travelled enough to forget where my real home is.

like a three way dressing room mirror
I'll show you every angle of myself.
I've got the rhythm and the broken heart of a poet stenciled into my forearms
a love for trees twining with my shin bones
and a dancer's heartbeat.

I'll show you the face behind the makeup
applied with gentle fingertips
while most of my world is still sleeping
I'll show you the character behind the mask
I'll let the skeletons in my closet dance with yours
and I'll even let you know the location of the scars you can't see
I'll sketch you a map with hesitant glances and halting sentences;
I don't do this very often.

You want to see me naked
but you don't even know what you're asking for
trust me and let your eyelids melt into your cheekbones
let the skin of your eardrums stop vibrating
and wait for me
if you'll let me
I'll strip myself down
and show you what really lies beneath the surface
I'll give you all of myself
if you'll sit and listen to my poetry.