Showers acupuncture skin , pummel
angry muscles
into submission ;
like coffee they
kick-start us into action ,
the quick fix , the jab for our frenetic times but
they are ill suited
to contemplation or insight —
Archimedes
would have discovered nothing under a shower ;
nor are they
conducive to knowledge ; you cannot
read under showers nor
can you write unless it is wet verse ;
moreover showers only cater
for one side at a time — leaving the
other blue with cold ;
in this
baths are more inclusive immersing us
like icebergs with only
the head above water ;
showers have
much to learn ;
young upstarts , they lack the noble
ancestry of baths yet
arrogantly tower above them ; their heads
must constantly be lowered
* which do you prefer: showers or baths? * if you were asked to write a bath poem what would your opening lines be?
John Malone 