by Tanushree Nag

Skin

The ridges of my palms 

tell a tale of a life lived 

and a life yet to live. 

Those palms which wrapped tightly 

around my mother’s fingers— 

those palms which gripped the pen which 

taught me to write and express. 

The wrinkles on the back of my hands 

tell me how far I’ve come 

each valley depicting a story lost in history. 

As I grey and wither  

and my body turns to ash 

the cycle of cradle to grave  

Renews 

as I live a life 

born of another mother 

in new skin. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tanushree Nag is a young poet, singer and songwriter from London. Her poetry has been published on the Royal Society of Literature website and she won the Jack Petchey Songwriting Competition in 2020 for her inspirational song “Pave the Way.” Her love for poetry started at a young age as she would use her writing to address current affairs and issues that she was passionate about. She is a mental health advocate and has recently won an international public speaking competition where she spoke about the detrimental effects of social media on youth mental health. She hopes to publish her poetry in an anthology in the future and continues to publish her writing in her school’s student run newsletter and her online blog. 

https://tanzofficial.wixsite.com/aregularteenlife

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