Poetry: “LEAVE-IN” by Molly Thapviwat
Even the smallest of exchanges between beloveds carry the weight of an entire relationship, as Molly Thapviwat proves with her poem “LEAVE-IN.” Careful, intentional attention given to particular language exchanged about love impacts the way it feels between two people, as the speaker eloquently states in the opening stanza. The lack of labels—or the language they contain like “replenish, restore, tame”—increase ambiguity or increase the controlling effect of a lopsided love. Thapviwat also displays control through the pacing of lines, especially when depicting the leave-in ritual and the lines “That everything behaved / better / wet.” In the end, we find ourselves alongside the speaker, swimming in silent shower thoughts.
Read Thapviwat’s poem below.
LEAVE-IN
Not gentle—soft.
As in pliable, as in rinseable,
as in don’t cling.
You handed me a bottle
with no label—
said, There’s enough static in the world.
I liked the ritual:
small palmful,
rub to heat,
apply root to tip,
wait.
There was something sacred
about the waiting.
But I started to wonder
what it meant
that you never let me leave it in.
As if softness were a threat
if it stayed too long.
You never touched my hair when it was dry.
Said it was harder to manage.
That everything behaved
better
wet.
Love, you taught me
how to be held
only while sliding away.
To smile under the weight
of something
designed
to disappear.
By month six,
I was fluent in the language of bottles:
replenish, restore, tame—
words shaped like care,
spined like discipline.
with a head full of silence
and thought:
maybe the label washed off for a reason.
Maybe this was the point—
to keep softening
for someone
who always rinses.
Molly Thapviwat
Molly Thapviwat (she/her) is a Thai-born English teacher, poet, and novelist based in Bangkok. Raised in Los Angeles, she developed her love for language at the crossroads of cultures and later earned teaching certifications in London and Liverpool. Her work has been recognized as the winner of the 2025 Wigtown Poetry Prize, Slipstream Poetry Competition (highly commended), and Welsh Poetry Competition (special mention), among others. Her poems have appeared in trampset and The MacGuffin and Candlestick Press’s 2025 Christmas Tree anthology. She is currently working on a novel and a debut poetry collection. Outside the page, Molly performs as “Elvis Little Sister,” a professional female Elvis tribute artist.
