Poetry
DEAD WOMAN
Scented steam still lingered,
Her hands still wet, laid across her breasts;
Burst bubbles of soap dripped
Over her still fingers.
She hadn’t been dead for long,
You could see the lids of her lost eyes still wet;
Wisps of her hair still clinging to her face;
Upon her smiling dead lips
Beads of scented sweat.
The water motionless yet still steaming,
He said in desperation
“She’s peacefully dreaming”.
But the water did never move again
around her, inside her
Because in the cooling bath
She was cooling
And she was dead.
Written by Jenny Bent 1997
© Jenny Bent
This poem was the inspiration for the painting of the woman in the bath. The inspiration for the poem…..well I can’t remember exactly, it was 10 years ago! Possibly due to being in an unhappy relationship at that time & wishing that someone someday would care about me enough, to that true heartfelt depth, that if they found me dead in the bath, they might try in heartbroken desperation to convince themselves that I was only asleep…….. drama queen, hopeless romantic….. who? me???!!!!