Hindrance

she lingered under the hot water
 
thinking if she stayed long enough
the steam might melt her skin, expose her
 
she wanted to lose herself in limbo  
 
start a journey through a maze of tangled hair
and discover something of troubling difference
 
she yearned to rake her fingers across the roads of her skin
to clutch her temples, the doors to her petrified mind made of wood
 
she hoped the water would tragically rot her away, romanticize  
her pain and heal her whilst being pulled back up into the atmosphere
 
she wished to fall over, look up at the sky and be able to  
breathe in the stars like oxygen  
 
she longed to look up with wonder and hope and a sense of  
control
 
her roots had rainy days to endure, with cloudy eyes, her hope was happy
 
maybe a hindrance had caused her to fall but she wished to grow  
and change and become someone of importance
 
the steam began to wrinkle her skin
so she stepped out, refreshed
 
her old skin shed, laid in pieces in the back of her mind
 
she walked on