i can see my lacy blue veins
beneath my skin

i can see them
on my eyelids
when i close one eye
and tilt my head

so delicate
and fragile
and strangely pretty
in their own way

i can see them in other places too
dripping down my wrist
running down my leg
in my elbows
and thighs

a constant reminder
of the life flowing through me,
though i may not recognize it
all of the time