If our bodies were the text


by Nané Ariadne Jordan



If my body was the text,

the words would be fluid - fluids
          running down my legs
          clear wet crystal salt of amniotic

or blood river of menstrual red,

my womb
the source of rivers,
          an ocean
          of meaning

If my body was the text,
the words would shift with each moment
          and days
          would pass inside out
          sometimes even backwards

bending, like this arm,
          finger,
          head,
          leg
each time I get up
to walk

If my body was the text,
the words would wash over me like sound
          one could never be sure of their exact
          meaning
          falling like hair,
each word
a tangled note

If my body was the text,
I would read the feeling of touch
          my fingers tracing
          shapes of letters
          over this –
creased fold
of skin

If my body was the text,
          (if our bodies were the text)
I would believe myself,
         (we would believe ourselves)
to be true.


Nané Ariadne Jordan
© 2007