Max Reif’s most recent poem to appear here was “With Trump, It’s Come to This” (February 2019).
Morning Ablutions
By Max Reif
Cold water on my hands,
cold water on my face—
more of an awakening
than getting out of bed.
Cold water on my hands
awakens cellular memory
of the touch
of a woman’s body.
Cold water on my face
and it feels as if
I’ve just emerged here
from inside my eyes.
This daily communion
is almost more real
than the day
for which it’s preparing.
Cold water on my hands,
cold water on my face.
Anyway, the knight
is ready now
to meet the world.
