Poetry- Sunshine Cures by Samantha Mahler

The sunshine melts into my skin

I can feel the way it makes my endorphins rush.

I relish in the extravagant nature of this golden shower

And remind myself that I am lucky to be in this moment,

As stepping in the shade takes these endorphins away.

Its curious the effect that sunshine has on me,

Especially considering the dull effects of the dark.

How could something as powerful as darkness mean so little?

Maybe it’s not the lack of power from the dark,

But the intense shining of that beautiful sun.

The heat seeps into my skull.

I swear it seeps into my skin and blisters my mind,

but I sit there for hours just the same.

For the rays of sun carry more than light,

but also the very essence of me.

In the shade I am not me

The darkness cools me to the point of cold chills,

And makes me remember why I go back to the sun.

So I return.

I go back to the sun.

The freckles turn to blisters.

The tan turns to painful burns.

But still I return.

Without the sun, without the blisters, without the burns, I cannot be me.