My skin dots, flares, and blooms
mushrooms into cloud blisters
spewing red and angry
they appear when the sun is hottest
and all around is humid
they appear overnight like algae
in seawater and I douse them
in thyme-witchhazel tinctures,
madre de cacao infusions, guava leaves poultice
I smell of earth and ferments
something rots and I hope it isn’t the sadness
that has spiraled into despair
I am advised to use hydrocortisone in different percentages,
another swears by clobetasol propionate, skin might thin they say,
stretch marks or pigmentation are risks
what else can a heart worn on this brown skin risk?
red is the color of my angry skin, blue
is the color of the days when the grays
of life appear after life’s rain
I smear my skin in white
and when I say all I want is green
I mean I am asking for it to be
all clear, lie down in grass
skin exposed to soil and sun

Jhoanna Parvati (she/her) is a Filipina poet based in El Nido, Palawan. Her work explores eco-poetry, motherhood, grief, and the islands. She moderates a writing community El Nido Women Writers (EWW).

Instagram: @jhoannaparvati