Skin Tight

The internal organs were growling

According to them

They did all of the work while

Skin got all of the attention

He’s an organ just like us

They groused

Even the heart, which, a

Century ago, was the Queen

Of metaphors, but now

Was reduced to the greetings

Cards section of CVS,

Chimed in

They decided to call skin

On the carpet.

Skin arrived from Cannes

Where he’d been the subject

Of much fuss as actresses

Fed him luxurious skin

Food prepared by Max Factor

Estée Lauder, L’Oreal,

And Chanel

They

Caressed him daily

Sometimes for hours before

They made the red carpet

Shine

He was petted

And preened

Others

Pleaded with him

To erase wrinkles to

Make them look younger

To tighten their chins

Skin tried to appease the

Critics, greeting them with

His familiar “give me some skin”

But his gesture went unheeded

Brain did all the talking

Brain said, “Here’s the skinny

Why do you get

All of the press

Your color

Your texture discussed

Endlessly

Nicole Kidman never

Did an ad about us

Cole Porter never

Wrote a song about us

Nor were we mentioned

In a Thornton Wilder novel

You’ve given us no

Skin in the game”

“What about the nasty

Things they say about

Me,” skin replied

“What about skin deep

For superficiality

Or

Skin trade

To denote something

Unsavory

How would you

Like acne rashes

Eczema

Boils

Pellagra

Leprosy

And

Conditions

That astonish

Even dermatologists

I wear my blemishes

In public while you guys

Hide yours”

“Without me and heart

You’d be nothing,” the brain said

“That’s not true,” protested

The liver, “without me he’d

Be nothing”

“No,” the kidney said

“It’s me who keeps the

Body functioning”

The bladder and

The kidney began

To quarrel with

Gallbladder

The lung twins spoke

Up

“Without us

He couldn’t breathe”

Even the esophagus

And the thyroid

And the pancreas

Joined the outbreak

“What about us?”

The eyes said

“Without eyes you

Can’t see”

Their squabble distracted

Them

When they looked

Up from their dust up

Skin’s

Helicopter was up

He was scheduled to

Address a convention of

Plastic surgeons at

The Beverly Hills

Hotel

Escaping by the skin

Of his teeth

His opponents gave

Chase

But above the roar

Of the chopper

They heard him say

“Don’t worry fellas

I got you covered”

--Ishmael Reed