Sunday, April 19, 2015

Spartan Bath






Separate spigots.
Chain and stopper. 
Light switch in the hall.

Reflection in a compact won't do.

I take the liberty to hang a mirror
near the jamb, pull my hairdryer cord
indulgently under the door.

Life can be too clean; I apply war paint,
mess with your modest towels,
bestow Cherokee mementos.

Lipstick graffiti.  Voodoo.  

I dead man's float in your tub;
leave my soap on the edge.
Feathers on your floor.



tk/April 2014


R.A.D.'s very best read to date...





22 comments:

  1. You always manage to come at these images from angles I can't even see before I read your pieces. Lovely as always and amazing prompt! (PS. I believe your link in the linky for this piece is incorrect as it leads right back to the prompt)

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  2. Yes Tess your link keeps me on the Mag but peeps know how to find you I would think. Too early a morning Tess? Messed up hair? Lol! Not my business.

    Yes I like life to be a little dirty it's much more fun that way! Enjoy your week Tess! Hugs!

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  3. oh hahah messing with the bathroom and applying war paint! Love it you naughty person you!

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  4. "Life can be too clean; I apply war paint,
    mess with your modest towels,
    bestow Cherokee mementos."

    Love this part. Great write. Nice imagery and mood. A soft moment of war. :-)

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  5. I liked this and read it again...deep and just a tad scary. Great work.

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  6. Sometimes you have to make a space your own. . . by any means necessary. Good one.

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  7. That is a take I'd have never imagined. Crisp yet beautifully portrayed :).

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  8. What a bathroom scenario... :-)

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  9. This one really daubs, then hits, then daubs. ''The Unbearable Lightness of.....Civilisation'' comes to mind. Very well done.

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  10. one must never build ones house over an indian burial ground ! .... Lest one ends up with Henry Kane floating in the bathtub .....

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  11. The imagery here is stunning.. the last stanza really makes me wonder.. the feather and the dead man comes back unsettling... very cool

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  12. I like how decorations moving along the poem leaving us with ..feathers, and you assumingly will keep soaping.....happy bathing! x

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  13. so many brilliant images here...fabulous!

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  14. Ritual of bathing seems to be an episode of adventure in a tub. Great imagery Tess!

    Hank

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  15. Wonderful creative take on this one, Tess. Love the imagery too ... and the war paint!

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  16. Yes, life does need to be messy, lipstick stained, with soft feathers underfoot and bathrooms walled by mirrors! Delicious read.

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  17. Applying war paint while leaving the soap on the edge: amazing lines and imagery!

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  18. This is going down as one of my Tess favourite's. 'Mess with your modest towels'. Fabulous! And as I read chain and 'stopper', I got a flashback to my old auntie Bella's loo!

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  19. The way you write is such flowing. Keep writing. www.bellofpeace.org

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  20. Egads, I can so relate to pulling the hairdryer cord under the door. Me, living in a house for over 15 years with NO OUTLET IN THE BATHROOM. Gonna fix that any day now. Great wordsmithing, Tess.

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)