I need to go tanning, she said
to her friend, equally burnt.

Oh pity the poor souls
that have pale skin
in the middle of November!

The ones that decide
that if they get tan
it will be through
moderate solar exposure
filtered through
SPF 25 sunscreen.

And that when winter comes
they may get pale,
for that is what Nature decrees!

Pity the poor souls
that have decided
to lessen the risk
of getting skin cancer,
for it is not now the health
of a person that matters.

Looking good
is all that matters,
not how healthy
a person truly is.

The natural look is out.

It may come back
in perhaps thirty years,
when we wise up
and when the burnt children
of today have become
the burnt, old, washed up
people of tomorrow.

For now in our
enlightened society,
the ideal of beauty
is determined by
how many layers
of makeup
is plastered on their faces.

The ideal of beauty
is determined by
the color of their contacts
and the clothes they wear,
or rather, how much
skin and brand names
they show.

The ideal of beauty
is determined by
how well they
play the Game,
the Game of
How Little Clothing
Can We Put On A Person
And Still Have Them
Be Considered Decent
In Public.

Oh, pity them, poor souls,
they who would be so beautiful
if only they would
accept what Nature gave them.