"Grief in the shower" by Montana Tiatia-Sefilino

I come in knowing where you are, hunched beneath the showerhead, breathing hard, swaying under the spray, eyes unmoored. I enter the tub soft-footedly, into the shallow water, circling your ankles until I become a small ocean, and you, shuddering in my tide, hold yourself hostage with the strength of your arms wrapped around your knees. the window fogs over, steam on the glass keeps crying as if it’s trying to drown you. and the tub swells inside me then rests within me. you raise your head. mist softens around you, and you remember how to breathe. ————————————– Montana Tiatia-Sefilino called us from Auckland, New Zealand. voicemailpoems.org/submit/ facebook.com/voicemailpoems x.com/voicemailpoems bsky.app/profile/voicemailpoems.bsky.social instagram.com/voicemailpoems