Vermont: Fall’s End

 

 Lying in a bath in Vermont in the early evening

With a small candle and a wet dog in the corner,

She wonders

If the man downstairs she came here with

Is as safe as the warm bathwater and the rain falling to music.

The window is divided into ticktacktoe squares

Misted from the heat.

 

In the warm bath she watches the oil and water

Play with one another

Breathing in lavender while she breathes out fear

Adding hot water every few minutes.

She watches her body appear

Through the soap and water letting her belly rise like a small mountain

And her toes peek back: as disembodied little villagers

Looking for supper.

 

Tonight there will be dinner and family to meet

They will bring magnifying glasses and notepads.

The man has begun to peel back her heart

And she practices putting it back together

just to make sure she can when he leaves