the layers

when I bathe

I watch my fingers prune

and see the layers

I have peeled off one by one

teeth gnawing into insecurities

into worries

into everything that must come

and I wonder why

I find it so hard

to keep my fingers in one piece

to leave my nails long and sharp

and the cuticles just the way they are

but the truth is

the layers will keep peeling

and the nails will be bitten

up until the day

that I will find some peace.