Let's bottle summer 

And freeze it, 

A drink might 

Come in handy sometime.

Have you ever poured 

Scathing water on yourself in the shower?

An entire bucketful,

Mug by mug, slowly;

Then all at once.

A futile attempt to

Rid yourself of your thoughts.

As if the water could wash away

The guilt and the shame and 

The pain you're feeling.

Instead, all it does is make your tears vanish.

Almost as if they were never shed. Not a trace.

The dampness of your heart

Melding with the withering shell

That is your quivering body.   

It's self punishment.

A means to redeem yourself

From the torment.

Perhaps this is why some of us

Take a hot shower at the end of the day.

Perhaps this is one of those
Secrets that die with us.

Perhaps this is why

We bolt our doors.

To lock in our secret that is the pain, not modesty.