Exultation Begins in the Bones
by Ellen Rittberg
bones emanate from my form
shiv-sharp,
carving space
cutting life
cutting through life
like I do,
sluice-like,
bones be damned,
bones be dammed-up.
bones
too large for my form
hairless mammoth
I heave and lumber
Seethe breathe from the teeth
and sigh
a basso profundo uuuuuuuuoooohhhhh.
other days, I am
pepper flecks churned
from anthills,
re-constituted detritus
consumed by
subsumed by
my life, which, so small
emits C-O two and desire
is all, and feel put upon
put down,
a population under martial law.
on good days I marvel
and proclaim: Applaud the human!
architectonic master stroke
long-limbed, strong
I straddle stars.
bound to this body,
bound to consider it.
the thin parts,
wings, porous, pearly
milky, silky loam
striations
interstices, integument.
is to love life its
configurations, gyrations, gestures
and form enough? On some days
it is all I can do
I revel and wallow, sneeze
and love, on some days
it is all, it is all
it is enough.