the long bath

you have been
underwater for
so long, that your
skin is dimpled
from head to toe.
it is soft
and rumpled, smooth
like pebbles at
the bottom of
a brook after
the winter snow
has melted and
rushed forward
towards where it
needs to go. and
as you lie here
next to me,
shivering from
the cold, i'll
do my best to
keep you warm,
keep you from
going back under,
from getting dressed
and going home.