I Unfriend the Sun
Sorry. I used to worship you; bare
my skin to your golden rays like
a supplicant. I allowed you access
to the most intimate parts
of my anatomy.
You, in return, dispensed
vitamins A and D, burnished
my whiteness to a warm, amber glow.
I thought we were on the same page, thought
we had a flare for each other.
You tricked me. You exposed me.
All those years of naked devotion,
senseless! I never dreamed
your ultra-violet tongue could be
so cruel, turning my own flesh against me,
causing scaly dots on the surface
to spread tendrils of basal cell cancer below,
like vicious gossip.
You’ve burned me one too many times.
I’m blocking you.
10 thoughts on "I Unfriend the Sun"
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I love how clever this poem is and I feel your pain. If I knew that it my youth the worshipping of the sun was to do this to my skin and body I would have felt blessed with the paleness of my covering.
You treat a serious issue with a light touch giving the sting more power.
the sun, like most friends,
is a double edged one
A clever and well worded take on the pay back for worship. One little medical thing that comes to mind when you talk about blocking the sun: the SPF ratings are only for the lotions ability to block UV A, UV B goes straight on through. The one reliable agent for blocking both is zinc so check your bottle for ingredients and if zinc isn’t there go shopping.
Thanks for the heads-up Bobby!
I agree with the cleverness comments. The title works so well! Love word usage – “ultra-violet tongue” and “had a flare for each other.” Yet we never forget the seriousness of the issue.
Good job, Kathleen!
Love always burns me, but I never learn. And it always incites “tendrils…like vicious gossip” Clever tell-all after the break-up, Kathleen!
Thank you everyone! I was afraid this poem might sound too flip – I guess it doesn’t.
Very nice. Echo above comments, and I especially liked the “thought we had a flare for each other.”
I’m blocking you.
Great last line!