I bathe with my best friend every Tuesday

Usually at about four in the afternoon

We feel that the warm bathwater

Protects us against the outside world

Our conversations are minimal

As we study the steamy wet room

This small room is directly above a jetty

Where my rowing boat is moored

I have not been out on the lake

For about five years maybe six

And my rowing boat is showing signs

Of age and advanced neglect

In a month my friend will leave

The country of our birth

I will miss her greatly and fear loneliness

My name is Erika Hagan

Which is a name

That I share with my friend