at the hotel room
peeling off my bathing suit
i catch a glimpse
of myself in the mirror
and run a finger
over the skin
untouched by the sun.

in the shower
i scrub vigorously
at the places
the sun had tainted
until they all glow red.

i was young,
too young to be pretty,
but just old enough to know what it was

and just old enough to know that i wasn’t.