Exhale

When the world is too much,

when everyone wants too much,

when no one gives an inch,

the moon and I lock them out.

I fill my tub, add my salts and oils,

light my candles and incense,

sink down into the

sublimely hot water,

Comforting my soul,

soothing my spirit:

the antithesis of the other

hot water I find myself in.

If there’s any leftover blame

lying around, cluttering up

your life, just dump it on me,

pretend it’s mine. It slides

off my shoulders into the water,

melts into nothing. Go ahead,

dump some more of it on me.

I know it’s not mine

I know you’re nowhere near

as strong as I am, nowhere

near as capable as I am,

so go tend your little dog

and take your wife to the salon

to get her hair bleached

and leave the real work to me,

put all of the responsibility

on my shoulders alone.

Criticize me while you’re at it,

make me the bad guy. I look

at your house of cards

with everything just so

and exhale, tearing it all down

in one breath.