Skin and Bones
Sam Hendrian
Originally published in the Summer 2025 issue of the SDL Review, available in print on Amazon. Also available in eBook form on Kindle.
Snuck into the back of the classroom
To learn about intimacy,
The rotating voices of substitute teachers
Barely registering where I sat.
Received simple instructions
On how to turn a face into a symbol,
A symbol into pleasure,
Pleasure into satisfaction.
The last part was optional of course
Since throughout all of human history
The only ones who’ve died satisfied
Are the voluntarily uneducated.
We were warned that someday skin
Would cease to cause excitement
And we’d be stuck fantasizing
About the bones beneath.
I fell asleep midway through the lecture
Then dreamed of a face-to-face conversation
Which radiated symbolic pleasure
Plus a fragment of satisfaction.
Meet Sam Hendrian
Sam Hendrian is a lifelong storyteller striving to foster empathy through art. He resides in Los Angeles, where he primarily works as a poet/independent filmmaker and makes at least one movie per month.
More of his work can be found on his Instagram
Read more Sam Hendrian poetry featured in The SDL Review — Summer 2025
Skin and Bones – Sam Hendrian
Showed Promise- Sam Hendrian
Photoshoot Fantasies – Sam Hendrian
Blanket – Sam Hendrian
