the patterned tiles gleam
on bathroom floors
spilled bathtub water could
never be sold
here i keep my
aromas bottled and slathered
for every morning shower
lather, lather
my lavender
calm, yet another
trapped sun
caged inside
a paper box in the
medicine cabinet
trembling hands
carry the wealth of
your worship
the water of this
shower head
pressures
like the disgust of
seeing what you aren’t
in someone you
wish you could be
spilled bathtub water
could never be sold
drink me
and taste the reality
of all that ugly
i wash off
every day
i am
trembling
and will
fall into ruin
~
Mercury-Marvin Sunderland (he/him) is a transgender autistic gay man from Seattle with Borderline Personality Disorder. He currently attends the Evergreen State College and works for Headline Poetry & Press. He’s been published by University of Amsterdam’s Writer’s Block, UC Riverside’s Santa Ana River Review, UC Santa Barbara’s Spectrum Literary Journal, and The New School’s The Inquisitive Eater. His lifelong dream is to become the most banned author in human history. He’s @Romangodmercury on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.