The Bath

I shall not take a bath today
I want to stink and send the crowd away

‘Though I grow ripe
I shall delight
In earht’s sweet sweat
From dawn to sunset

I rpide myself on work of grime
In dirt and clay I know is mine

Like a daisy is my joy
Rooting beneath the deepest soil

No! They cannot dig me out!
They don’t know what I’m about

I am just me
Not what they see
They don’t believe
I shall succeed

I’ll take my stand, whatever they say
So I’ll not take a bath today.

April 2, 1988
Dedicated to my youngest brother Jim and an off-hand remark he made.