I used to carry nail glue and now I carry band-aids — Kendall Towbin

I bite the acrylics on my nails 
until I hate myself 
because it hurts 
and my mom will yell at me 
for wasting her money and my time

I take the polish off
because I’m sick of failure 
soaking and scrubbing
until everything I touch tastes like acetone

my mom tells me not to pick at my skin 
now that nothing is standing in between
to stop me

but I still pick and it still hurts
and I bleed

my brother looks at my thumbs 
disappointed and asks me 
to stop before I become him

my gaze falls on the scars
worn by his nubbed and naked fingers 

I don’t tell him that he’s all I’ve ever wanted to be

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Kendall Towbin is a junior in high school whose original musical Dream of Me—for which she wrote the script, lyrics, and music—was recently performed at the NBPS Blackbox Theatre. Her first poetry book Letters to a Beautiful Stranger was published last year and can be bought on Amazon. Her next poetry book Inner Monologue is in the works and will be available by 2026. Kendall’s poems “Misplaced Affection” and “Aftertaste” are included in collections by Poetry Nation and The America Library of Poetry respectively. Her writing means every to Kendall and she is overjoyed to share it with you.