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...

Join Magpie Tales creative writing group

Latent Image

Danseuse ajustant sa bretelle, 1895-96, Edgar Degas 

It develops in the bath;

smears mirror steam,

births metallic

in crumpled waves

of toothpaste tube.

I watch it thrash;

to cling to others,

push them under

and climb on top

in order to be rescued.

It does not drown;

settles under gelatin lids,

struggles to evaporate

before the fixer

dodges and burns.

tk/November 2013 

Excellent, thoughtful read by R.A.D. Stainforth...in his black and white world...

Join Magpie Tales creative writing group. 

Baptism

Thank you R.A.D. Stainforth, for bringing my words to life ...

I draw a bath,

an extra holy one ―

listen to Gould

play Moonlight Sonata;

realize it's sometimes good

to conjure new rhythms,

modulate the time-scale.

Embedded bruises rinse pale,

trickle along transitory lines

to the sanctity of the river.

I come downstairs,

steeped smooth and soft,

to find you, anticipant on the sofa.

Christen me with your best icky,

your most sophisticated stuff.

tk/September 2012

Join The Mag creative writing group.

image: Summer Night, 1913, Albert Bloch 

In Vitro

R.A.D. Stainforth's lovely delivery...

I sit cross-legged and watch,

as your sea fades and shrinks;

shell-like bubbles break,

in the lingering suds.

I listen, bath-wrinkled,

shiver, as your voice runs liquid,

your soft night-time eyes blink,

as you take a drag,

curls drip behind your ears;

your lips within kissing distance.

tk/ April 2012

image by Manu Pombrol

Join The Mag creative writing group.