I poured it on my face
and over my head
like I was pouring a jar of oil.
Bowing my head, it dripped off me
as if I had poured out pure nard,
olive oil,
myrrh,
out of broken alabaster
on my knees, in tears,
wiping the surface with my hair.
My head stayed bowed
my knees were a thorny crown
on the ground,
I drew near it
and tried to draw it to me
in the palm of my hand
but it moved through my hand
like a ghost
while leaving a wet impression
on the lines of my identity.
Pure, powerful,
it escaped my hold yet stayed with me,
for now I was clean.
Water.
I looked into his face as he reflected mine
back to me.
I was close to this pool because my heart was powdered and purple.
I looked inside the pool and saw my eyes,
red and lived in,
I drew near,
like I was about to sip
or baptize my face
but instead I mumbled a still whisper -
a prayer I wanted no other ear to hear
yet my lips were pressed
on the surface of the pool as if they'd collapsed on an ear;
longing to pour myself whole inside that which I feared,
and I said,
"Water?"
"How do you persevere?"
Feb 7
Feb 7, 2026 at 2:49 PM UTC
I poured it on my face
and over my head
like I was pouring a jar of oil.
Bowing my head, it dripped off me
as if I had poured out pure nard,
olive oil,
myrrh,
out of broken alabaster
on my knees, in tears,
wiping the surface with my hair.
My head stayed bowed
my knees were a thorny crown
on the ground,
I drew near it
and tried to draw it to me
in the palm of my hand
but it moved through my hand
like a ghost
while leaving a wet impression
on the lines of my identity.
Pure, powerful,
it escaped my hold yet stayed with me,
for now I was clean.
Water.
I looked into his face as he reflected mine
back to me.
I was close to this pool because my heart was powdered and purple.
I looked inside the pool and saw my eyes,
red and lived in,
I drew near,
like I was about to sip
or baptize my face
but instead I mumbled a still whisper -
a prayer I wanted no other ear to hear
yet my lips were pressed
on the surface of the pool as if they'd collapsed on an ear;
longing to pour myself whole inside that which I feared,
and I said,
"Water?"
"How do you persevere?"