P O E T R Y
Portrait against Bathroom Tile
EMILY PEIFFER
S
HE sits naked on the edge of the bath , buttocks bulging beneath her weight . She leans to swirl bubbles , body curved and glistening in a coiling cloud of steam . Hair slides from her shoulder , comes alive in the water — a brushstroke in foam . I fall , transfixed , body trailing knobby knees as they stride across carpet and tile . I reach her , clumsy-tongued , and lick the hills of her spine , trying to suck the knolls from her skin , round bones nourishing my mouth . Sacred . How sacred the body . She laughs and calls me a fool .
31