An Afternoon Bath

by William B. Caldwell

to wash away the mud of yard work.
Near my tub a house plant
mother-in-law tongue
in a red clay vase. Its tongues
tilt to lick light.

A hand held mirror
my eyes under drooping soffits,
jelly of the middle. Any ordinary soul.
Like Narcissus gazing in a pond—long as the wind is still
and carp don’t jump to bite an ear.
Pour of hot water

fills the room as I sink into my bath.
A friend visits in a dream. She extends her hand
Orphans know each other well

Step onto a rug with me
slippery wet skinned—all gone with a swipe.

Bill Caldwell lives in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a mostly retired nurse and marriage and family therapist. His interest in poetry was heightened by reading poetry to a friend dying of AIDS. Poetry sustained his friend during his last days. Bill has been reading and writing poetry since then.

About An Afternoon Bath—This poem was inspired by a dream about a visit from another deceased friend. I hope in the poem to use Lorca’s concept of duende, a concept used in our recent class.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Issue 28 – Spring 2023
Home
- Elizabeth Lutyens, Editor in Chief
  “It’s Only Human”
Interview
- Great Smokies Writing Program Coordinator Jennifer McGaha
  With Special Features Editor Janet Moore
  “What’s Next: Building on Firm Foundations”
Nonfiction
- Amy Jane Lynch
  “Walking the Barrel”
- Amanda Burns
  “Remembering Clare: A Love Story”
- Zoe Rhine
  “The Prankster’s Laughter Stone-Skips Across the Lake”
Fiction
- Billie Harper Buie
  “Refugees”
- Pam J. Hecht
  “The Lions”
Poetry
- Judith A. Davis
  “Stopping by a Farmstand on a Summer Afternoon”
- Karen Luke Jackson
  “Open Heart”
- Margaret Bishop
  “Dying to Be Born”
Craft Session
- Bruce Spang
  “Syntax as Style in Poetry:
  The Invisible Craft of an Artful Sentence in Poetry”
Reflection
- Zoe Newton
  “Selective Memory”
Archives
The Great Smokies Review

Elizabeth Lutyens, Editor-in-Chief, Founder
Janet Moore, Special Features Editor
Julie Abbott, Submissions Editor
Patrick Pickering, UNC Asheville Intern
Michael Mauney, Photographer

Jennifer McGaha, Great Smokies Writing Program Coordinator
Lilly Danzis, GSWP Administrative Assistant
Tracey Rizzo, Dean of Humanities, UNC Asheville

The Great Smokies Review is an online publication of The Great Smokies Writing Program, a joint effort of the UNC Asheville departments of Literature and Language, Creative Writing, and the Asheville Graduate Center.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We accept student fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction submitted by faculty of the Great Smokies Writing Program and other UNC Asheville writing programs. Submitters will receive a guidelines checklist to complete.

© 2023 The Great Smokies Review

All rights reserved. This publication may be freely distributed only in its entirety and without modification, and only for private use. Excerpts may be reproduced and distributed only by permission, except in the case of quotations for use in reviews and interviews. The creative works published in The Great Smokies Review do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of its staff, The Great Smokies Writing Program, or the University of North Carolina Asheville.