Thick Skin
Photo by: Alexas Fotos
From each stretch, contain the inner you,
Elastic, pulled to the next stage of presence.
Each year, your aura expands,
From knowledge to emotions untold.
Building inner strength to transmit,
Elastic walls harden in unsafe environments.
These extra stretches build the thickening,
“Have thick skin,” they say.
“Thicken up,” you try.
The thicker skin you hold,
Is the art of passing the mould.
Breaking into new hues can bring the blues,
In an atmosphere of doubt and fear.
The voice within grows faint,
Thick skin is a must to survive here.
The light inside starts to deflate as holes appear,
Life’s force and emotion pouring out.
Feeling you’re losing yourself.
Once-contained beliefs now free,
Beyond the thick, searching to be recaptured.
These butterflies are trapped by lies,
Shrivelled in defeat, surrounded by dark space.
Stung by bees or bitten by snakes,
Thick skin now an act.
Once solid, now a façade,
Thick skin without connection.
Bitten by others, you are tested,
Thick skin now to show others it didn’t sting.
The moment you lost yourself,
Broken, you have no choice.
Either lie down, surrender purpose,
Or rebuild with new beliefs.
Stop the leak, fix the hole,
Release precious values.
Let them take the old you,
Dive deeper into what’s left.
Build self-belief to face the next test,
Let go of those who dimmed your sparkle.
Welcome a new structure of trust.
Bounded by your new skin,
Never letting the stabbers close.
Understanding that thick is,
Actually fragile in growth.
Thickening up means,
Welcoming the new you.
Description
Thick Skin was written in 2024 and is about the times where you're feeling uncomfortable in your skin, like everything is going against you. It’s about the inner voice that tells you to just toughen up because everybody is telling you to have thick skin and not to take things so personal. This poem responds to that to feeling, the feeling of taking things so personally because you have the passion, because your heart is so connected to the things you want to bring to the world, that it does really hurt. It talks about how you found yourself and through that the self you created, the strong version of you, then gets attacked. About how you to have to pass through that mould of you, getting past who you once were and focusing on where you're going to go. It’s about the ups and downs of feeling defeated, surrounded in a dark space because the people who were once there to help you, who admired you for your strength, are now the ones who are tearing you apart. Maybe not intentionally, but this is how it feels on the inside.
When you are rebuilding yourself with new beliefs, it's about finding new pathways to help you build a better you, a stronger you. The real thickening up at the end is taking you from this fragile version of you to a thicker, stronger you. A huge reminder that something big is coming and the next you is coming. So it's in this uncomfortability, this hurt and despair is where the thickening happens. It’s about breaking through the hurt, breaking through to the new you that will be healed and ready you for the next thing. So you can protect yourself for the next time. Help you to build stronger boundaries and, and better mental awareness, so you can be the light that you've always wanted to be.
With my poems, and this one specifically, I’m trying to answer, ‘how do I try to communicate how I'm feeling’? and ‘how do I share the overwhelming emotions that I feel when you love so deeply, you have so much passion, and you're so connected to everything and everyone, that it just hurts a lot, even the small things really hurt.’ I hope I’ve been able to express these things in a way others can feel the experiences, not just read them.
