Layers Beneath A Shadow

My soft caresses flip

through layers she never

knew she had available,

tucked in the shadows of

her beautiful delicacy.

It’s nice to meet those

acquaintances as I peel

over one after another,

each one a little more

melanin, its own legacy.

The mood is an art show,

a testament to how much

she lends the mind; her

worth is self explanatory,

a literal truth.

She’s a liberal proof of

different views to how I’ve 

come to see her, and all the 

while she’s giving cues for 

me to keep looking through.

—JG  ©2026