Lobster

Poetry by Kaileen Campbell

I am sitting in the bath
abetting the tub to assault itself with water.
The spout is screaming down. Unloading itself
upon the mirror below. I am content
listening to this far more violent waterfall.

I think I’ve been led to this. Seen too many magazines
shining with an egg glaze.
Women falling to the romance of a basin
of warm water.

You are a stressed women they claim
This is the thing stressed women do. I unload
a stream that bakes my toes upon entry. My skin a red shell
that pictures do not detail. Peppering the water with more
of a boil under each step of a recipe.
You can cook yourself this way.

Kaileen Campbell was born and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey where she works as a welder. She studied creative writing while attending the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been featured in Better Than Starbucks, The Metaworker, and JONAH Magazine.