After Party

Darkness slid into the icy water,    
damaged hands gripped porcelain,  
old ink looked hard on tightening skin,    
she floated, nose and eyes above the surface,    
body worse than she had feared,    
muscle defined by cuts and bruises,    
the cold forced swollen tissue to conform.    
    
It was time,    
she stands naked—trembles on marble tiles  
water running from her feet    
following grout lines into dead pools.    
staring at the hard wall    
as she dressed in the half-light.    
Unable to face the passenger in the mirror,  
a glance she had always carried with her,    
no one understood the instability.    
   
Barefoot on bedroom carpet    
then out into the hotel hall.
Her nerves caught   
the smell of left over room service,    
it almost made her vomit    
as she followed the dull thud of music,    
striding in time with each beat.    
“Keep quiet she’s coming”    
   
With a smile,    
her animal broke the seal,    
exploding with the champagne,    
carried high on shoulders around the room,    
the champion’s belt tight in her hands.