For those unfamiliar with Australian Rock ‘n Roll, in the 1980s we had a thriving local music scene. There were lots of locally grown stars (as well as those adopted from over the ditch…from New Zealand). One song that sticks in my mind is “Onion Skin” by Boom Crash Opera, in which the notion of people being made up of layers is explored. You can find out more here: https://boomcrashopera.com/
Below is a short poem I wrote, maybe with that song rattling around in my sub-conscious.
Layers
We are constructed in layers
Levels both disparate
And simultaneous
Some are hidden even to ourselves: deep, dark, unknown
And others are pure in their superficiality
As temporary as happiness and as fragile as time
The longer we dwell in any one layer
The more we distort the others as we forget and regret
We can peel back only so far until delicate flesh hardens and
becomes unresponsive to the touch.
Angele Toomey Poetry 