Ideal Spot

reflections in a bathtub

wrapped in my sheet
surrounded by water and
the porcelain sides of my bathtub
I'm clean

and stamped
see it through their eyes
for a minute or two
and scream at first

I didn't want to look at myself
raw and exposed and naked
but eventually, I realized my knee
and i recognized beauty

in my flesh
in the curve of my stomache
and in the puddles formed
by the contours of my body

the water drains away
slowly
and tantalizingly
also lingering with warmth

and makes me cold
mirrors my smudges of vanity
cocooned in my drenched sheet
and watching the tendrils of my hair