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.