avatarJosh Lonsdale

Summary

The poem "SKINHUNGER" by Josh Lonsdale reflects on the author's intense longing for physical connection, marked by vivid sensual imagery and a raw exploration of desire.

Abstract

"SKINHUNGER" delves into the author's profound yearning for tactile experiences, evoking a visceral response from the reader through its vivid and somewhat erotic depictions. The poem is a candid confession of the author's desperate need for touch, akin to the pangs of hunger. It draws a parallel between the act of sketching and the physical act of love, underscoring a deep fascination with the human form. The poem also hints at the author's nostalgia for a more tangible, analog past and a self-awareness of the conditioned, almost Pavlovian nature of his desires.

Opinions

  • The author appears to be expressing a deep, almost primal need for human touch, equating the absence of it to hunger.
  • There's a sense of guilt or embarrassment associated with the author's intense sexual fantasies, as suggested by the furtive nature of the sketches and thoughts.
  • The author seems to critique the modern, digitized world's influence on human sexuality, likening it to product placement in media.
  • The poem reflects a longing for authentic, unmediated experiences, contrasting the raw physicality of riding bareback with an allergy to lambskin condoms.
  • A sense of curiosity and adventure is conveyed in the desire to intimately understand every person, comparing every womb to a unique story waiting to be explored.
  • The mention of being "made from loose scabs" in the "days of analogue" suggests a longing for a past era and a critique of the sterility of modern life.
  • The poem implies a fascination with the body as a source of stories and experiences, emphasizing the author's fixation on the physical.
  • There's an element of self-reflection on the author's part, acknowledging the animalistic nature of his desires and the learned behavior that fuels them.

SKINHUNGER.

Author’s own image.

LOOKS LIKE I’VE GOT THAT SKINHUNGER again hooked by those jumpers to the electrocardiogram these thoughts pornographic turned furry palms graphomanic and I’m sketching bare breasts under eyelids and school desks, the well-thumbed pages of this flesh catalogue, got me waning with moon phases slobbering like a dog, product-placed behaviour ‘that’s like soooo Pavlov!’, I was made from loose scabs in the days of analogue, I dream of riding bareback I’m allergic to lambskin, I dream of parting waxed legs and tucking myself in, every womb’s got a story that I want to explore, this tongue’s double-jointed did I mention that before?

© Josh Lonsdale, 2020

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