How do you write a love letter to someone you no longer know?

By Erin Walker

I heard of your passing yesterday

I was busy drawing a bath with lavender scented bubbles

The bubbles were supposed to remind me of being a kid

Of turning wrinkly with my sister well before our time

Of Jewish girls making Santa Claus beards

Of my parents house before they sold it

Of picking neighbors flowers only to have to return them a day later to their mourning feet

I was busy drawing a bath with bubbles when I stopped to look at my phone

Such an insistent companion

Lately it has been especially good at reporting bad news

I wanted to disappear beneath the foam

Let the water blend in with my soaking face

I think it should be a law that only very old people are allowed to die

I was drawing a bath when I realized

The only wrinkles you will ever have are the ones from your childhood

From spending too much time in the pool or from washing dishes to make your mother smile

I thought about sitting next to you in halls at lunch

Of you placing your oversized headphones on my ears

Of you sharing your soul because you were excited that I wanted to learn about hip hop music

Of teachers who didn’t understand us because we didn’t quite understand ourselves yet

Of the flowers I stole from my neighbors and the looks on their faces that taught me that death comes in all sizes

I guess this bath does remind me of being a kid

Erin Walker is a creative artist living in Los Angeles, CA. She spends most of her time at home, with her three dogs and cat, dreaming about the day she can add a pig into the mix.

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