Cloaked in spines just under skin
Ready to break out at the slightest touch
Itching to break free from below.
Frigid with hard bony edges
Other's touch highlights the cold
Recoil at feeling the warmth.
Knowing that touch is important
That others need to feel me
Suppress the urge to withdraw.
Know too that I need to be touched
To be human, to be happy
To keep the spines under the skin.