When the world is too much,
when everyone wants too much,
when no one gives an inch,
the moon and I lock them out.
I fill my tub, add my salts and oils,
light my candles and incense,
sink down into the
sublimely hot water,
Comforting my soul,
soothing my spirit:
the antithesis of the other
hot water I find myself in.
If there’s any leftover blame
lying around, cluttering up
your life, just dump it on me,
pretend it’s mine. It slides
off my shoulders into the water,
melts into nothing. Go ahead,
dump some more of it on me.
I know it’s not mine
I know you’re nowhere near
as strong as I am, nowhere
near as capable as I am,
so go tend your little dog
and take your wife to the salon
to get her hair bleached
and leave the real work to me,
put all of the responsibility
on my shoulders alone.
Criticize me while you’re at it,
make me the bad guy. I look
at your house of cards
with everything just so
and exhale, tearing it all down
in one breath.
About the Creator
Harper Lewis
I'm a weirdo nerd who’s extremely subversive. I like rocks, incense, and all kinds of witchy stuff. Intrusive rhyme bothers me.
I’m known as Dena Brown to the revenuers and pollsters.
MA English literature, College of Charleston
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
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Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
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Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
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Comments (1)
It's not fair for you to have this all to your self. Now you've got to invite me over. This looks so incredibly relaxing. Exhale, very fitting along with this photo. When no one gives an inch. You get a PREACH from me, in the third line. I am loving this already. Love it. That you can lock them out. That you create a place for yourself where you could retreat to. You blew me away with this one. You became, almost like the sacrifice. Everything poured onto you. I especially like this, 'it slides off my shoulders into the water' love how sensory rich this poem is in some parts. It's very alive. Very current and relatable. Speaks directly to the person behind the door and also behind the screen. Expertly done, I must say, Harper. This was really really good. 👌🏾🤗❤️🖤