I Am, So What Am I to Think by John Grey

 

Juan Valverde de Amusco's Historia de la composicion del cuerpo humano (Rome, 1560).

 

the meaning of within
is mostly belching & gurgling
& that relentless heartbeat
that keeps sending blood to my brain –

thought’s about as real
as it is ephemeral –

& dreams
are all regret,
no prophecy -

tendon & muscle
are merely there
to be stilled eventually

meanwhile, the certainty of the end
can flex itself in the mirror –

I’m still impressed
with how the bones are put together,
organs stuffed where they make the most sense,
flesh packing them in,
skin stretched tight to hold it all together -

but I understand
nothing by it –

all I know is that
I occupy this space
and no one else does –

I’m a law of physics –

the kind
not even the worst of us
ever get to break - 

*****

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident. Recently published in Soundings East, Dalhousie Review and Qwerty with work upcoming in West Trade Review, Willard and Maple and Connecticut River Review.