my palm was bathed

[alpacinou]

Hello,

Have I used "palm" and "bathe" correctly in this sentence?

What do you think about it?

She had shot herself. I grabbed her body, my palm was bathed in her blood.

 

[SoothingDave]

Just the one hand? Probably more likely your hands were covered in her blood.

 

[alpacinou]

Just the one hand? Probably more likely your hands were covered in her blood.

I want to see if I can use palm. So, what about this?

She had shot herself. I grabbed her body, my palms was bathed in her blood.

 

[tedmc]

The second sentence is a comma splice. It would be okay without the "was".

 

[SoothingDave]

Use "palms" if you must, but "bathe" does not work for me. Figuratively, "bathed in blood" implies a ruthless violence that I don't think you intend.

 

[alpacinou]

I see. I am trying to practice it.

So what about this?

She was crying. He cupped her face. His palms were bathed in her tears.

 

[GoesStation]

So what about this?

She was crying. He cupped her face. His palms were bathed in her tears.

It works for me — and you know I'm hard to please.

 

[PeterCW]

It's technically correct but not a natural turn of phrase for a native speaker.

In BrE it would be unusal to say "palms" alone. Despite the redundancy the natural way would be to say "the palms of is hands" or just "hands".

 

[Skrej]

I want to see if I can use palm. So, what about this?

She had shot herself. I grabbed her body, my palms was bathed in her blood.

In additional to the comma splice, you have an agreement error with the second part.

 

[Skrej]

Also, the whole 'blood on palms' things draws a pretty strong religious comparison - why is he cupping her blood in his hands like some kind of messianic figure, instead of applying direct pressure (palms down!) on the wound?

Probably because I heard it about a million times as a child, but once I read the original sentence, I immediately thought of this hymn.

Edit: She had shot herself. I pressed my palm over the wound to stop the blood, but it still flowed through my fingers.

There, now she's no saint, and he can literally feel her life ebbing away between his fingers.