and then
a sudden
and catastrophic
world
you a subtle
body
driven
through
fear
up harsh
walling
driven
under
ego
down harsh
futility
you see
it when
they Mutt
and Jeff
let
seeing in
we know
all
is
power
you mere
body
bare
life
in
isolation
with
threat and
incentive
coffee
a meal
shower
a letter
asylum
*
“touch, too, is an infinite
system of communication,” she said,
floating in the pool, and traced an arc
along the light wave surface then my arm,
“each living gesture precarious
which is the root of a latin prayer.”
Copyright © 2020 by Jeffrey Pethybridge. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on February 5, 2020, by the Academy of American Poets.