Poem: Sestina

Digital Painting by Jeff Spencer

Woman washing her hair
stands alone in the bathroom
head inclined over sink
legs gush up from the floor
glass reflects the fine lines
around her pulpy mouth

Woman presses her mouth
against ends of her hair
Eyes engraved with deep lines
See her shape in the bathroom
Bare feet touch cold tile floor
Toes by porcelain sink

Her thoughts spiral then sink
Back into her closed mouth
She melts into the floor
Leaving nothing but hair
Life implodes in the bathroom
Seeping between the lines

Outside, people in lines
See the world start to sink
Look around for the bathroom
Start to open their mouths
Feel the falling of hair
Onto the cold tile floor

Mother bursts from the floor!
Tiles erupt through the lines
Woman forms beneath hair
Takes shape next to the sink
Holds the world in her mouth
With the keys to the bathroom

Gray hair glints in the bathroom
Fills the sink, flows the floor
Etches eternal lines round the opening mouth