Friday, August 22, 2025

Skin Shells

By Sophia Larimore

Student Writing Awards, second place, poetry category

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Cells regenerate every 7 years 

Every 7 years you gain a new body 

So let me shed my skin cells and once again become soft to the touch 

Shiny, new, and pure 

Cells regenerate every 7 years 

So wrap your arms around my body without fear of my scar spines and comfort me while I weep over my old, dead skin 

Let me gain this new body that no longer is too ragged to embrace others and let them Embrace me 

Cells regenerate every 7 years 

So let my love hold me close without fear of being impaled 

Or without fear of penetrating and cracking 

Hardened skin, now soft enough to trust others, would fall, be caught, and not break their bones 

Cells regenerate every 7 years 

After those years pass let me look at my breasts without shivering at the sight of Daggers sharp enough to cut through skin 

Let me look at my ass without vomiting up the 

Acid in my guts, melting through my wooden floor 

Instead, let my breasts be tender and soft 

Let them be something to celebrate and make a toast to with a White Russian in hand Let my ass be a pillow for my tired eyes to rest upon 

And instead of creating acid, stir up my guts to create a sweet cream 

A new body is made every 7 years 

So let my body forget the touch of those hands that molded my body 

Cayden, Liam, somehow another Caden, and Charlie 

 

 

About the Author 


Sophia Larimore is a journalism major at Illinois Central College who writes about anything that sticks in their brain. From love and queerness to feelings of despair and trauma, Sophia covers everything. When they're not writing, they're busy tending to their plants or playing video games. They hope to one day publish both a horror story and a collection of poetry, drawing inspiration from creators like Andrew Joseph White, Andrea Gibson, Will Wood, and Dazey and the Scouts.

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