A body
The joy it has brought me (if "it" and "me" can be bringer and receiver of things)
A home for my children;
first in belly
then, in arms, nuzzled, naked on my chest in never-to-be-seen-again moments of exquisite discovery
Before that
Legs
That walked up hills, through valleys, onto planes and leaped off boats.
A body that propelled bikes around cities, cheating the traffic and beating the blues. Freedom.
One that danced! on beaches, in forests and fields, around fires, with friends, with lovers. Dimly lit underground clubs and train station platforms. High on life and other things.
Arms that have hugged, held fast, a softer touch when needed, let go when required.
Once a soul, about to embark on its earth bound journey, wondered
What is it like to have a body? (if living within it can be seen as ownership?)
To move, one foot after another
on warm sand, wet grass?
To feel air, fresh or sticky hot?
Cold is tiny bumps on skin
and warm a sometimes soft, sometimes fierce, energy enveloping.
If I had a wish-
to know the power of my body in the moment
To feel fully the glory of youth, when young-
not through the looking-back lens
To be proud of all of it. The miracle of legs and arms, feet and skin. Life.
To bear it all without shame or spectacle.
The obvious beauty and the unavoidable traces
Of life, lived.
See that now, here. A body, a life, lived and loved.