I Show the Cat My Body

I place a lit candle
in the corner of the tub,
the rougey flame sole light

and ease into the bath.
I slide the shower door
to just a crack
waiting for the kitten.

Red steam rises off the water
I lift my leg and it steams, too,
like brisket forked from braising.

When she comes, my legs form
a bridge from entrance crack
to me. She ventures out Wallenda-
style, testing strength, then commits
nimbly towards my knee. Willfully

I show her my body, which she regards,
scrotum no more scrutinized than calf.

She tends her neck down towards the water
like something elfin's
just beneath the skin,
and crouched low off my thigh,
she laps the liquid vaguely me.

I feel as if my body
is both ground
and God.