Peel it back

Peel it back

There must be something

Worth preserving

Beneath the surface

Everything has foundered

On the outer edge

Of epidermis

A thousand

Ships have gone down

With all hands

Waving goodbye

Too much debris

Washed up on deserted shores

Left to rot

Belly up in hot sun

Dreaming of Helen

Islands are not as advertised

A paradise deserted

Is of little comfort

In a snowstorm

Every flake that falls

Is unique

A difference

Designed to perfect

The art of redundancy

When everything

Is essential

Nothing really matters

But the relationship

Of one thing

To another

Beneath the layers

Of sunscreen

There is a tenderness

Worth preserving

It can be reached

With perseverance

An approximation

Of empathy

And the wisdom

To massage deeply