Poetry & Prose

bedtime routine

  1. walk into the bathroom barefoot
  2. turn away from the mirror
  3. pull your shirt over your shoulders & let your pants slide off your hips, unclasp your bra
  4. don’t look
  5.   a. don’t look
        b. don’t look
  6. put on your pajama shirt, then your shorts, tie the waist tight
      a. make sure all your clothes are one size too big, let them become a room your body is lost in
  7. open your eyes, adjust to the light slowly
  8. breathe 
      a. inhale, exhale, then inhale once again
  9. turn around
  10. look in the mirror, but don’t cry again
      a. it’s just a body, and we aren’t all born lovely 
  11. after it feels like too much, go to sleep
  12. dream
  13. and in the morning, forget