there is a picture i used
to have from an old national
geographic   it is a picture
of a bath tub in woodlands
somewhere in british columbia
a middle-aged woman is
sitting in this ceramic tub
sky
overcast and children playing
nearby   her hair is tied up
which makes her look
younger and her cheeks
are flushed like lamp shade.

i cut it out when
I was very young   my
father bought national
geographic
because he had always
had an intuitive interest in
anthropology   rarely i feel
rain on my feet   but when
i do i think of
bathing outdoors and what it
would be like to see
rain falling into bath water.