the body in poetry

I sing the body eclectic
bones Adirondack quartz almost unbreakable as almost-diamond
eyes narrowed and skeptic by Los Angeles sun and heartbreak
legs toughened by the rattle of a Brooklyn subway train
skin thickened by decades of Great Lake blizzardscapes
heart lightened by the desert sky
I sing the body eclectic

I sing the body IBM Selectric
that short-lived half-measure
between typewriter and computer
the neaderthal missing-link word processor
an in-between medium of
skin tags and stretchmarks and surgical scars
stumbles brief ecstatic wonders and rambles
lost gambles and sabbaticals in the stars
I sing the body IBM Selectric

I sing the body didatic
no lessons learned subtly
no lessons taught subtly either
all blunt force trauma on me
all truths either caressed or gouged
never brushed never hinted never suggested
each new set of words
a punch in the gut or the warmest embrace
everything teaching me something
or something I someone else taught
I sing the body didactic

I sing the body apoplectic
screaming shaking frothing burning bright
hemorrhaging trembling throwing white light
a body so energized a body could burst
with joy and with rage
with heaven and earth
I sing the body apoplectic

I sing my body
I sing my body because dammit
no one else will sing my body for me
no one else has the time so
I sing my body despite myself
I sing my body
I sing