I set
My parts
In rows
To strengthen
And grow
As the parts
I forget
Are mine
Shudder
Around us,
Shaking
Loose
The seams
That holds
It all
Apart.

I lay
At the end,
And as I feel
This body
Still
Her face
Slips in
Before mind,
A smile,
Then a plea,
Then a loss,
Before hers
Becomes his
And his
Becomes theirs,
And I yearn
To join,
To make ours,
But I wait,
As this pain
Deserves a
Witness.

As I leave
My mat
And flesh
Behind,
I recognize
The plain
Made battleground,
The twisted
Bodies,
Faces
Gone slack,
The urge
To gaze,
To curate
Curiosity
For
Each
And every
Fallen,
Around
How
And where
They stood.
I stand
On healthy
Feet,
On solid
Ground,
And hesitate
In the tension
Between
As today
All paths
Seem fraught.

As I breathe,
And push
Heel
Into space
Behind,
The shift
Pops
From hip
To toe
And I grow,
And I note
The joy
Of moving
This body
Freely,
This breath
With ease,
And
I am
Humbled
By the space,
And I hold
Past comfort
And breathe
For those
Who cannot.

I’d set
Them down,
One by one,
Just beyond
My mat,
So I could
Be
Alone
In my skin
And my head.
And when
I was
Enough
To be
And not be,
Alone,
And I drew
Them close,
One by one,
To watch
My eyes
In theirs.

I reach
Hands
Around
And above
This body
Through
Befores
And afters
And thems
And these
Buzzing
In tiny
Separate
Bits,
And breathe,
And feel
Them
Join
And
Seep
Through pores,
Under nails,
Around organs,
And fill
This body
With me
(And we).

I sit
Just so,
Rolling
Breath
Up and down
My spine,
Bottom
Heavy
Between
Wants
And musts
To come.
I sit
And remember -
The line
I’ve chosen
Goes
Forward.