An ESME Poetry Showcase Award submission
She wasn’t prepared for how her body
would deceive her
how her own flesh would be so quick
to give away
hunger meant to feed her soul.
We underestimate
the undertow of the universe
how it pulls
our corporeal thingness far from shore
to the primordial
so that we may swirl below surface
with life first arose
and how small we are in the company
of such a force.
Her body succumbs to exhaustion
deforms, feels pain
as the new life gains presence, strengthens
takes shape.
It must feed off her and she must submit
to the current
let it do with her what it will
bob with the nausea
trust she will stay afloat in this space
where her body
is not hers and the being not complete
that time will
one day wash ashore two wholes.