The Blood Bath

The Blood Bath

The bath was full of crimson,
But nobody knew why,
The taps had both been silent,
The towels were bone dry.

I stood there at the doorway,
Afraid to venture near,
Something beneath the water
Was whispering in my ear.

It never spoke a language,
No words that I could know,
Just bubbles breaking slowly,
Then something moved below.

I called into the darkness,
But darkness never spoke,
The mirror started clouding,
The bathroom light bulb broke.

A handprint marked the window,
Five fingers painted red,
I knew I lived there lonely,
Or that was what I said.

The water started turning,
Like something stirred beneath,
I saw a little smiling face
With far too many teeth.

I ran towards the hallway,
The door slammed in my face,
The bloody water followed,
And crawled across the place.

It climbed along the wallpaper,
It slipped beneath the door,
I heard the bathtub laughing,
I’d heard that laugh before.

Then suddenly came silence,
The bathroom turned bone dry,
The water left a message,
You know the reason why.

I never found the answer,
I moved away that night,
But every bath I’ve taken
Has slowly turned off-white.