Bath

Oh good golly!

I need a bath!

I’m filthy, dirty, nasty—

Mud and sweat and grimy filth

Just covering my body!

And so I turn the water on,

And get it nice and hot,

And listen to the swishing pour,

And the caldron’s gurgling pot

As the water heater churns it out:

A nice warm bath for me,

And I pour some lavender oil right in—

An aroma herbal and soothing,

And then, I dip my foot into

The water’s cleansing edge,

And slow-motion steady, my

Body follows to a full submerge.

I lie beneath the water there

And soak myself, through and through,

Until the wet and the lavender

Have done what they needed to,

And then I swim up back into the air,

Feeling so crisp and clean,

And get out all primed to face myself,

And ready to get dirty again.

-jenn long