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Body Language

this poem
is like my body

it won't impress                         at first
but then, as it spreads      to the right and

left margins, soft fleshy layers
upon layers 

​

hidden words

tucked into its’ corridors

you will see

my body is smooth like the paper I roll my pen

over and spacious like a preserved natural wonder to explore

I sometimes run loose
over its surfaces
cascading down
the curves.
Can't imagine life

without this body all the shapes the endless

no form

of ideas bumping into one another
with no frame to put it in.
Can't imagine living in someone else's body
some tall ruler stick body with small wrists

Can't ever imagine
living in a body like that.

I'm sure it doesn't double over in laughter

& roll into a thick sausage
at night, I don't know
if I could ever do that 


give up my body
haul it in to the Body Shop

get it fixed
flatten
out all the parts
& put me back together
shiny
& warranty guaranteed

​​​

Published in WomanSpirit, Wolf Creek, Oregon

© 2025 by devorah b. harris

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