i write about my skin
and tell myself
i am the colour of
thick raw honey
of hot burnt caramel
so, i must be sickly sweet
i tell myself ,
but i am not.
i am not the sweetness in the sugar,
i am not the fluidity of honey
but i am-
the agility of sand,
the fertility of soil
the strength in tree trunks
the spice in cinnamon
my skin is not sweet
it is sweat, sun, scars
and years of feigning the art
of loving it.
and on somedays i do not
love it
i can not.
those days,
i tell myself,
my skin is my skin,
it is not
sugar
-Harleen Osahan
About Harleen:
Harleen Osahan is a 17 year old writer from Muscat, Oman. She has spent most of her high school life, exploring and experimenting with different forms of writing. She has attended regional and national writing competitions, winning the first prizes. She has been the editor of her school yearbook and e-magazine. She is a firm believer in the politics of poetry and considers poetry as means to mobilisation of the oppressed.
Artwork by Julio Kirk.