lines.

with forefinger and thumb we let the water run
the absent minded accomplice
losing track of time
caught off guard by the bathtub boiled over.

most people don't take baths in the morning
or eat breakfast
i like both.
and yes, me with enough time to read the paper.

time is everywhere like advertising
and time is a human invention
after all, most inventions are human.
sometimes i feel as though time has frozen
when really it is more like the basketball
in the back of a car
the illusion of frost
masking the gentle hiss of deflation.

with ring-finger and thumb
we dig for a plug like a yellow journalist
the haze created by the hot water in the small bathroom
makes nakedness uneasy, unnoticed.

i will be home again,
some time soon
when love and time are interchangeable.
i gave up watches
when i found i wasted too much time
watching my watches
killing time is killing yourself
and you in agreement.

it was in my youth that i discovered
that the bathroom existed in its own dimension
outside the realm of human time.
it is one of those discoveries widely understood
without being discussed.
for example, there are no clocks in bathrooms
to bathe you must remove everything from you
but yourself.
and the water only gets cold when you start to think about it.

with middle-finger and forefinger
you've clicked on the fan
the haze dispersing
and you looking at my body and blood and me
contemplating the rift in my two dimensions
and me softly wondering, "et tu, bruté?"


~RS
November, 2005
Used with permission