Today, I awoke holding my body.

Belly,

Face.

A caress in each hand.

I exist.

I am embodied.

I stay here,

In this

Flesh.

Feel this,

Under my flank;

The angle of femur

Resting in hip socket.

And this muscle, this meat and

Skin over it.

We all desire to perpetuate.

We want this body to continue to exist.

We want it to regenerate and heal.

Daily,

We bathe it

Feed it

Sensing how it needs to move,

It moves without us naming.

Before we say in language how

We need it to move, it knows;

It already does;

Activated by instinct;

A voice

From a deeper place

Inside.

The instinct

Moves our vocal chords

It gives birth

It makes war

It gets a divorce –

It remarries.

This body

Loves

Hates

Mourns

Laughs

Does a silly dance

Rescues someone.

To stay. In. The body.

This is the boon we ask of God.

We ask of the All, the Everyone;

The Universe.

We observe something is true

With our own eyes

Before language,

Before language.

My soft

My soft

The curve of my belly

Is good.