The Body Gives
Sometimes the body gives too much.
A tendon frays, the heart mumbles
and no one sees the damaged parts.
Ignoring pain, we continue climbing ladders,
sandpaper breath rasping the morning light.
Little bits of us crumble all the time,
yet we stumble on, pretending.
Then the body kills us with its enthusiasm.
Cells duplicate wildly, plaque explodes.
This enmity within? Defensive maneuvers.
Working alone, I wonder where I might end.
On the floor. In a field. Atop the bed.
Under the surface of a rippling pond
or drifting with smoke
through a snow-clad afternoon
at eight thousand feet. Among
the grocery’s tomatoes and squash
approaching the end of a long list.
At the bar, glass in hand, or in a truck
at a four-way stop, the radio blaring.
Time enough for speculation, they say.
But I wonder: when I jump,
does the earth always rise to greet me?
* * * *
“The Body Gives” first appeared in The New Reader Magazine, in March 2018.
O at the Edges 
Hmmm – my “view” of death is a weightless rising upward from the planet, from the body on the planet. The specifics I eventually rise from seem irrelevant, though I hope not too inconvenient for those left behind.
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I like the idea of disassembling in the stellar wind…and also hope that this won’t inconvenience those left behind.
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love the last line, I wonder too, when I jump does the earth always rise to meet me… well done. very thought provoking, thank you , Michelle
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Thank you, Michelle!
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So well worded… very apt as we begin the ending of these seasonal times instigating cheer and postponing the reality shrouded!
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The body gives, the body takes, and we go on or not.
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The juxtaposition of the mundane, intangible, minutia, and time. What a strange, but appropriate mess. I think I appreciate this piece of work. Or perhaps I will not. Depends on which day, and which surface upon which I find myself. Very well done, sir.
No, I do not prefer the bed – it is freighted with more than I’m able to handle today. I would prefer the smoke, at nearly 300 feet below sea-level, honestly. Death becomes some of us.
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Such is my life. These days I’m well aware of my mortality. An attacking heart and a pandemic will do that… Thank you for reading and commenting. Much appreciated.
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I like the whole thing, but this part especially struck me: “Then the body kills us with its enthusiasm.”
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The body is extremely annoying in that way!
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