the shower

The shower

The shower is my safe place

I know it has been a bad day when I am on my third or fourth

And my skin is rubbed raw and cracks when I move

And my hair is stripped completely of its oils

Sometimes my shower is a stage for an impromptu

Dance parties and concerts and other times it is a church

Other times as the water runs through my hair and past my temples it mixes with my tears so I don’t know what is water and what is tears

Bubbles and sweet coconut scents can always lift my mood

A space with no questions no expectations

Just clean.

The shower

The shower is my safe place

It feels productive it feels like a new beginning

The water washes away any impurities with its boiling touch

And I even smile through the pain of the first drops splashing against my skin

Only the first few drops hurt and after you are enveloped in the warm water

Only the first few drops hurt

I don’t mind the red marks on my skin as I walk out into the steam but welcome them

If only I could scrub away this skin

And start again

The shower

The shower is my safe place

In my shower, I am seen I am loved I am listened too

I can win arguments and speak my mind

I feel free even if only my loofa is listening

No one can stop me and no one else is there

It's my own little world under the shower head

One filled with white bubbles and the smell of fresh soap

In this world, there is no bad and no sad and no way to disappoint

Only bubbles and the scent of soap

The shower

The shower is my safe place

I have found a way to feel again

If I keep it all in one place if I keep it all the same it can’t be seen

Behind the layers of lotion used to keep my skin from crumbling

I have trained myself not to flinch when my scorched skin is touched

I have laughed off the skin peeling

But the shower is my safe place

A place where everything is pure everything is white

The shower

The shower is my safe place

I leave the whole world behind nothing can reach me

Nothing can touch me

With each burning drop, I float further and further away on my soap bubbles

The shower

The shower is my safe place