Once, before the first day of kindergarten

          She took a bath

                 And the water was warm

And her mom checked in

          To make sure she was okay

And the bubbles were fun

And her mom washed her hair

          To make sure no soap would get in her eyes

                 Because then she would cry

And she would drain the cold water

          To replace it with warmth

And she was in there so long

          Her fingers felt like prunes

But that was okay

          Because she was happy

And she got out

          And she put her pajamas on

                 And her mom tucked her in

                        And she went to sleep

Once, before the first day of second grade

          She was told no more bubble baths

And she was forced to take a shower

          But the water did not surround her

                 Still, it was warm

And her mom did not check in

          To see if she was okay

                 Because she was long gone

And she got soap in her eyes

          But she wiped them with a towel

                 So she did not cry

And she kept the water warm

          Until she was told to get out

But that was okay

          Because she was at ease

And she got out

          And she put pajamas on

                 And she fell onto a foreign bed

                        And she went to sleep

Once, before the first day of fourth grade

          She had to give the baths

                 Because the kids were too little for a shower

And the water only touched her hands

          But it was warm

And she checked in to make sure they were okay

          Because now she was the mom

And she washed their hair

          To make sure no soap would get in their eyes

                 Because then they would cry

And she kept the water warm

          Until it was time for them to get out

And she took a quick shower

          With the little bit of warm water left

But that was okay

          Because she was alive

And she got out

          And she put pajamas on

                 And she went to sleep in the closet

                        Of a prison she could not escape

Once, before the first day of freshman year

          She took a shower

                 And the water was warm

And no one checked in

          To make sure she was okay

And she blasted her music

And she washed her hair

          Without getting soap in her eyes

And she slowly turned the temperature up

          As her body adapted to the warmth

And she sang along to the music

          Because there was no one to tell her no

And she had thoughts of conversations

          Which would never happen

But that was okay

          Because she was content

And she got out

                 And she put pajamas on

                        And she read herself to sleep

Once, after the first day of senior year

          She took a shower

                 And the water was hot

And no one checked in

          To make sure she was okay

                 But she was not

And she blasted her music

And she did not wash her hair

          Because she was already crying

And she turned up the music

          To drown out the sounds

And there were thoughts of conversations

          Which already happened

But that was okay

          Because she could no longer hear them

Remaining on the bathtub floor for so long

          That her fingers felt like prunes

                 And the water now ran ice cold

And she did not get out

          And she did not put pajamas on

                 Because she finally put herself to sleep