The snake slithers through the grass

Leaving naught but its shadow and shedded skin that

Is tougher, more callused, than the new skin it's growing

.

Humans, too, have a second skin

Tougher than the one it covers

But most of us keep the outer layer

All our lives

.

It keeps us warm and cozy

It keeps us

Protected

.

We fear all our lives

Of losing this protective layer.

We'd feel naked,

Vulnerable,

Without it.

.

It causes scathing insults to rebound

Leaving nothing but a mere blow, a dent.

It's our shock absorber.

No wonder we're so reluctant to lose it

Beneath the more callused, toughened skin,

We have an inside,

That we never show.

.

Our inner feelings,

Our vulnerabilities,

Our thoughts, emotions, and despairs

Our hopes,

Our dreams,

.

All those

We hide from the world

(I know I do)

Don't let anyone else onto them.

.

But sometimes it's better to let go

And stand with arms wide open

Letting the wind whip through you

Shaking all your cares and worries away

.

So let go of your second, outer skin

And be able to show your bare nakedness to the world

Without being afraid of how people will treat you

Once they can see into your core,

Underneath

Without being afraid of how people will treat you

In what could be called your "vulnerability"

But what you can call your "honesty".

Shed your second skin.