Second Skin

[Keith]

Twelve months it took to grow my hair long,
a rough as fuck look to feel I belong,
I needed the clothes, reflections of me,
something grubby and ripped at the knee.

So I waited until my brother got fat,
and took the tight leather from off his back,
his biker boots I saved from the bin,
the cobbler laughed when I took them in.

Steel plated cleats complete with new zips,
he restored the scuffed leather, all was hand stitched,
a nervous how much, for the work he had done,
son I can’t charge you, I've had too much fun.

A bottle of bleach poured over new jeans,
the family bath had never been so clean,
rinsed in cold water to stop them from rotting,
so bleeding tight they stopped me from squatting.

A jumper came next for under the leather,
knitwear from Nan to keep out the weather,
brown wool she bought, so what could I say,
I would have to wear black, some other day.

All on a journey of bikes beer and friends,
forever an image of myself to extend,
caught in the fibers a DNA of my youth,
even the drug squad could use them as proof.

The jumper I kept, its upstairs in the loft,
sometimes I lift the lid from its box,
the first thing I smell is just musty and stale,
then I get cigarettes and a hint of brown ale.

[cidermaid]

Kieth you should collect all of these personal ones into a file and save them for publishing when you are famous. I would buy them...they are like matchstick men and dogs...on first impression they look like they were done with a crayon but on later reflection they really speak to you. I love them.
This one needs a bit of polishing in places.
Some of the lines like the bleeding tight one make me think that there could be a second image inserted there. (Bleach bleeding, blood restricting)...but then that would cut accross the plain easy simplicity of your work that makes it so accessable and enjoyable. So let's not and say we did!
AJ

[billy]

not sure if you intended to have meter but if you did it misses in a couple of places and sounds a bit clunky.

other than that it was a good read with some good insights/memories for this reader. the 2nd line hit home though i was more a mod than a rocker (back in the day)

[Keith]

Kieth you should collect all of these personal ones into a file and save them for publishing when you are famous.  I would buy them...they are like matchstick men and dogs...on first impression they look like they were done with a crayon but on later reflection they really speak to you.  I love them.
This one needs a bit of polishing in places.
Some of the lines like the bleeding tight one make me think that there could be a second image inserted there.  (Bleach bleeding, blood restricting)...but then that would cut accross the plain easy simplicity of your work that makes it so accessable and enjoyable.  So let's not and say we did!
AJ

AJ you are very kind, I probably should sort these out and at least save them as they only exist on the pig pen at the moment I will also have a look to tighten the meter. Best Keith

[Keith]

not sure if you intended to have meter but if you did it misses in a couple of places and sounds a bit clunky.

other than that it was a good read with some good insights/memories for this reader. the 2nd line hit home though i was more a mod than a rocker (back in the day)

Motown and a Mod I would have had to hate you Billy, for no other reason than it was an expected exponant of your Second skin. Thanks for calling out the clunkiness I will have a tinker with the engine.