by Erica Jasmin Brown

Let me strip for you,
Take off the layers,
Bare my soul in a way no one else will see.
Remove the mask,
Displace the veil,
Show you all there is of me.
Expose me,
Embrace me,
Love me in my purest state.
Let me strip for you,
Utter every secret,
Dispose every lie,
Every flaw,
Every fear.
Let me strip for you.
Give away the spectacle,
The negativity I harbor,
The atrocities I’ve done,
The erroneous thoughts I conceal,
The monster deep within.
See me naked,
No makeup, no cover,
Lights on, brightly shining,
No flaw enigmatic.
Let me strip for you.

Tell you all the ways I’ve plotted my end,
Show you the pains of my last attempt,
Display the scars of a woman broken.
See me raw,
Stripped,
In despair on the floor,
Watch me inhale while I struggle from neglect,
Stare at me standing there,
Telling myself “Not good enough!”
Peer at the harm, hurt, and denial,
See me naked,
Drowning in my own torment.
Love me naked,
Fondle every flaw,
Envelop me in tenderness.
Make me shout in adulation,
Love me crude,
Penetrate me with optimism,
Show me euphoria & jubilation.
To you and only you,
I offer:
See me naked
&
&

Erica Jasmin Brown 

I am a writer, a current student of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA program and a dedicated military spouse.

Artist: Kendrick Daye