The Body has memories

The body has memories that can't be touched,
of the eagle's talons piercing the flesh of the fish,
of the fish's struggling that prompts the death grip,
of the water buffalo chewing its cud, 
dimly aware of its harness,
of krill chasing plankton beneath Arctic floes
in a dance of Brownian motion,
of the leech in the stream fastened to stone,
waiting for the press of flesh to release and attach, 
the water and sky streaming above.


		Brandywine
		7/21/96