Tonight's Poet Corner: Cleansing

Cleansing
by Belinda Roddie

My hands have been in the pot
for far too long, yet when I draw
them out, they are stripped of blemishes
and imperfections. The scalding was
at first unbearable, but ultimately,
a little went a long way in peeling
away the scars of my childhood -
the bicycle tumbles, the punches
from angry schoolmates, the frozen
touch of "Go away" when a flower
was crushed beneath a sneaker.