In a bath, darkly

when submerged you hear only your heart in your ears as if it has moved there, you don't feel any point of contact, the beauty of disconnected floating, an achievable flight, the nose poised above the water, your chest can't swell as the pressure of the water constricts like a belt, you must breathe in shallowly to avoid floating up too far. Then carefully, turning the plug's valve with your foot the water drains away slowly. You feel like a skin of water is pulling you down like clingfilm, your face breaks the surface as if it were your original crowning moment seeing the world for the very first time and a wave of pleasure of tenderness of sensitivity crashes through your body like waking at once from a dream you try not to laugh out in joy in ecstasy, you are so delicate at this moment in this moment, a single exhalation will ruin the feeling of asphyxiation, the sweet asphyxiation, your eyes which had only been able to sense the candle-light when submerged are now given the opportunity to open but you concentrate all your sensory action on touch on feel on pleasure through this masochism. Shallow breaths are necessary to prolong your drowning as you are weighed down paradoxically by the lack of water that seems to go on forever, you are pinned to the bottom of the bath, you cannot move, do not want to for the weight of the universe is not only pressing down on your chest but pulling you as well, as satan fell to pandemonium you are being pulled by some insatiable force and again you are floating, in stasis, but not drifting this time you are stuck, lost in transit. The water below you leaves and your breath cannot keep you off the surface of the bath now and you thud back into the world, your eyes can again open  to these familiar surroundings and you are free to breathe again, the water around your shoulders slowly trickles past you until you undam it and let it flow freely to the plug.