TAN
Courtney LeBlanc
I stand naked in front
of a mirror looking at my sun-baked
skin. My hands skim the tan lines
that curve down my body, the lines
he follows with his hands, his mouth.
I know when I leave this island oasis
my skin will grow paler each day.
I wonder if he will fade
from my body, if each day
I will remember
less and less
till he’s only a ghost of a freckle
on my heart.
These things never last. Yet each time
I’m here I spend hours
in the sun, in his arms,
soaking up the warmth they offer.
30
Cauldron Anthology