The Show Must Go On

& on 

& on 

& on

so I lift 

my limbs 

from the cold tub floor,

naked, 

and shaking, 

and dripping 

with longing 

for another life — 

for a body alive in its own skin,

a heart faithful to its pulse,

and a mind clear in its currents, 

a life in which I spill 

all of my liquid grief

down the drain 

like a recurring nightmare, 

  I’ve finally escaped.