Escape

The water is warm.
The curtain creates a child cave.
I am hiding in the bath.
The exhaust fan issues a droning warning.
"Occupied do not enter."

For me,
It has been a TOO LONG period,
Of fraternal stimulation.
Guests,
Their physical needs,
And their mental anxieties catered for.
The mess of new high traffic areas.
The kitchen, the toilet bowl,
And where the children play.

There's the stress and strain,
Of an expanded nuclear family,
Who has indiosyncracies you are unaware of.
The inordinate amount of food preparation and resultant dishes.
Willing helpers whose ignorance of your household,
Makes them a hindrance.
Then there are the social dynamics.
Who will tolerate who, and for how long.

So for a least a while,
And perhaps a LONG while,
I shall recoup,
In this bath.

Leave the Water on - An Ode to the Bathtub

Oh great receptacle of iron cast.
That within its warmed contents,
I enjoy a sweet repast,
Of solitude.

And at the day's end,
Wash away the bitter stresses,
And send,
Them into purgatory.

For who could resist,
The water's sweetest tinkling,
As it kissed,
The enamelled edge.

Or the velvet tenderness,
As it caressed my weary flesh.
For me, such feelings of happiness,
As those,
Are not so often expressed,
in Prose.

Yet my tub and I shall thus sojourn,
Through pleasant evenings of our life.
Once I have left, and clothing donned,
Will yearn,
To be within its soft embrace,
Again. 
  

When you are too cold

When you are too cold,
You can't sleep and everything aches.
When you are too cold,
Your body and mind becomes indolent and goes on strike.
When you are too cold,
You want to eat stodgy carbohydrates and warm sugary drinks,
Like cake and hot chocolate.
When you are too cold,
Outside looks even colder and less inviting,
You think about moving to warmer climes.
When you are too cold,
Only laying in a deep bath,
With an endless supply of hot water,
Will cut it.

My Bath - My Office

Despite also containing our homes only toilet,
The bathroom does not make such a bad office.
It is relatively private,
And the warm water and relaxed attitude to attire is a definite plus.
Being able to recline while tapping away on an iPad,
Or making necessary business phone calls is superior,
To any ergonomic office chair.
My bath easily holds two,
So there is room for my secretary.
When the water gets cooler,
I can just let a little out of the plug- hole,
And top it up with lovely hot water.
This is only disadvantageous when you are speaking on the phone.
I sometimes wonder at the thoughts of,
A business contact on the other end,
When they hear the echoing hollowness of this chamber,
Or the splash when I drop the soap.

Warm Water

The pressure of fluid against flesh,
Like an all encompassing embrace,
That demands nothing.
Float.
Escape the wear and tear of gravity on joints.
Hair slick and free from bondage.
No clothes to imprison,
Or harness breasts.
Bare as if in the womb.
A warm bath is like a homecoming.