Soapy water, soapy water
Let your bubbles console me like I am your daughter
Silly girls always forget what mama taught her
I’ve put my heart, body, mind and soul through slaughter

As I hand-wash, and clean my dirty laundry,
Memorising the unmentionable events before me
The memories of each man that owned them haunt me,

New panties for each new man is a new story
Soapy water, how I wish it would cleanse
My dirty spirit tainted by numerous men
They come and go, they came and went
No afterthought, cos after their thoughts weren’t heaven-sent

We share a bed; share semen, share sleep,
A part of my soul and my underwear they keep,
Under my skin is worn out, invisibly cheap,
A different man, same sentiment, a different week

May the soapy water swallow slackness down the sink?
Scrubbing my silkies from powder blue to pretty pink,
Watched as I made men grow, after I watched them shrink
Helplessly watched them go- without a trace or blink

Wash the dirt away, wash it deep
Rub it deep like they did when they went into me
Felt it in my arteries, to my kidneys
Temporarily filled so deep, so how do I still feel empty?

Can this natural resource clean the soul that I have left?
Can it ignore and provide for my loneliness,
Can it replace the high I receive from each caress?
My heart, soul, body, conscience is under arrest

Dear bubbles and steam, so warm and soapy,
Grip every unclean molecule like they did when they groped me,
Panties may appear clean, but undercovers need a cure
Will I always be far from pure, owning panties of a whore?

Description: was based partially on a character from a favourite book (White Lines- Tracy Brown)who had been through prostitution. I also envisioned what it would be like to tell a story from a perspective that is different to mine and my morals. Soapy Water which is used to clean clothes and dirty things is symbolised as a way to hopefully cleanse her soul.

Author: La-Donya Henriquez