Will we forgive the indiscretions of the body
Its rejection of stillness
The granting of growing pains
The scent of hormones
A previously unknown
Power of muscle
And the sorrows of
Carnal longing
Will we forgive its prolapsing phase
Following decades of deceitful plateauing
When gravity beckons and
The weight of years sings in tongues
A return to the Golden Age
Silencing all diverging aspects
Will we, the dumbfounded, acquiesce to
Its yearning to be a cocoon
The peace of rounded, seamless
Curving, curling and folding
To become that discarded placenta
And coiled umbilical cord
The stillness of nourishing
And making room for the after
Pina Piccolo, 7 September, 2024
Cover image, courtesy of The Scientific American, Credit: Norm Barker