the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur

            at home that night
            
            i filled the bathtub with scorching water tossed in spearmint from the garden two
            
            tablespoons almond oil some milk
            
            and honey
            
            a pinch of salt
            
            rose petals from the neighbor’s lawn i soaked myself in the mixture desperate to
            
            wash the dirty off the first hour
            
            i picked pine needles from my hair counted them one two three lined them up on
            
            their backs the second hour
            
            i wept
            
            a howling escaped me who knew girl could become beast during the third hour i
            
            found bits of him on bits of me the sweat was not mine the white between my
            
            legs not mine
            
            the bite marks
            
            not mine
            
            the smell
            
            not mine
            
            the blood
            
            mine