My Older Sister and I Share Memories of Baths in the Clawfoot Tub by Martha Christina

Hers:

You were screaming. . .two and
a half, maybe three. . .screaming,
but she insisted the water wasn’t
hot enough to scald you; she
insisted. . . .That was the last
time she bathed you.

Mine:

My sister and I took turns
sliding down the tub’s curved back,
splashing each other, laughing.
        Unsupervised.



Martha Christina has published two collections: Staying Found (Fleur-de-lis Press) and Against Detachment (Pecan Grove Press). Her work appears in earlier issues of Red Eft Review, and recently in Star 82 Review, Crab Orchard Review, and Tiny Seed Journal. Born and raised in Indiana, she now lives in Bristol, Rhode Island.