Ch-ch-ch-changes, Max.
The tale well told, & I hope for the best for you. I tanned a lot when young too; so far, so good. Nice tone on the tanning ‘studios’…
Doug
On Jul 22, 2015, at 8:13 AM, Max Richards <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> The Age of Sunbathing
>
> occurred after my parents’
> generation, swathing
> themselves in skin-protecting
> clothes, preferring shade,
>
> under parasols, erecting
> arbours and gazebos,
> admiring complexions
> they called English Rose.
>
> My peer group wanted tan,
> minimal swimming gear,
> laughed at sunburn, peeling skin,
> joked about the midday sun.
>
> So we baked by pool, ocean,
> riverbank - on exhibition
> our full-length narcissism -
> brow, back, chest, thigh, tum, bum.
>
> Walking the park this hot summer
> I see few fanatic tanners,
> yet shopfronts nearby say: you’re
> safe in our suntan studio.
>
> Sun Tan City, Desert Sun, Tropical Tan
> on Queen Anne (that’s a hill
> suburb near me in Seattle).
> There’s Rainglow Airbrush Tanning,
>
> Cactus Club Tanning! (ouch?) -
> red light therapy, the Ergoline
> tanning bed - while warnings come
> against binge tanning, skin
>
> damage, melanoma.
> I asked my doctor, told my story -
> Celtic genes from furthest north -
> sunbaked Kiwi turned Aussie.
>
> The two top skin cancer countries!
> Zap with the liquid nitrogen
> against my suspect bits of skin!
> Take that BCC to the surgeon!
>
> Cryotherapy or the knife!
> He puts my ear to sleep - hold still -
> not many stitches. Wear a hat,
> sunblock, stay indoors, stay well.
Douglas Barbour
[log in to unmask]
Recent publications: (With Sheila E Murphy) Continuations & Continuation 2 (UofAPress).
Recording Dates (Rubicon Press).
Done in by creation itself.
I mean the gods. Not us. Well us too.
The gods moved into books. Who wrote the books?
We wrote the books. In whose dream, then are we dreaming?
Robert Kroetsch.
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