Consider my body
and how it moves —
the reach and balance points,
the arcs extended
through my spine, my limbs —
consider how it spins
and how it leans and stretches

There is no moment
when it is not made of motion.
Even at its most still,
the counterpoints of rise and fall,
of soft and taut
are what define it

It’s not a mass of matter
waiting to be activated.
It’s not comprised of elements
that might move.

It is the actual movement
as clearly defined by my thought
as the vortex form
is governed by its rippling imperative —
cohesion of the liquid
and the gravity that draws it
and the honored channels
through which it flows

My body is like that —
transparent, wave formed,
kinetic,
whirling through the dance
of present tense.

©Wendy Mulhern
February 11, 2015

photo by Edward Mulhern