Onsen (hot springs) in the morning (Japan)

Women sitting on low stools
Unhurriedly scrabbling their soft skin
Towel between the little toes
Scented, soapy waters running down
Their bodies.

Beautiful hair is gently shampooed
Long slender fingers lathering in and out of thick hair
The smell of jasmine or orchid is in the air.
The main bath is HOT
I can see steam rising in the air

The women are gentle
They do not stare at the foreign woman
In their midst
But they ARE curious
I can sense them quickly
Glance to see how she is built.

I do not meet their eyes on purpose
I want them to look
To see that we are very similar
That we are essentially built the same.

I am NOT a foreign element
Wrapped in an enigma
Wrapped in a mystery
Wrapped in nothing at all.

I am a woman
Who carries her life’s experiences
In the forms of scars on her body,
Just like them.
And so they gaze.

They look at me hypnotized
And when I finally catch their eyes,
They smile at me shyly
Almost apologetically
And I return a loving smile.