I
The body already knows,
What the mind almost knows.
The body is swift to action,
The mind can be indecisive, moving like ice flows.
As an infant, the body mysteriously grows,
While the mind wanders aimlessly in winter snows.
When we come of age, the body sprouts sensors,
With feelings that invade with raving desire,
While the mind simply rages frantically,
An inferno of wanting that identifies itself only as fire.
II
The body already knows,
What the mind almost knows.
When the body has an itch,
The hand immediately responds.
This is not the workings of a witch,
The body has a need and flicks a switch.
If there is a poison festering inside,
The body’s boils will bloom and break.
The poisons cannot simply hide,
The body expels the poisons for its own sake.
III
The body already knows,
What the mind almost knows.
The mind wanders from thought to thought,
It gives the impression to be almost there,
When suddenly, it changes its fickle mind,
Moving from blissful happiness to utter despair.
The mind makes a decision and pretends to take a stand,
To uphold justice, liberty and truth without compromise,
But the lower soul counters with a compelling demand,
With the potential of leading to a person’s demise.
IV
The body already knows,
What the mind almost knows.
As such, the body knows it is aging,
Every ounce of flesh responds in kind.
The process has no chance of reversal,
No matter what fantasy may occupy the mind.
The body rides a downward slope,
On a flow of molasses, there is no pretense of hope.
While the mind pretends not to notice,
And goes on its merry way like a floating lotus.
V
Ultimately, the body knows it is dying,
Every molecule and cell cries out its demise.
The mind attempts to go about its business,
Erecting any barricade of illusion it can devise.
The body takes one last glorious breath,
Filling the lungs with the sweet kiss of goodbye.
The mind stares off wondering into the distance,
Planning for tomorrow with some insistence.
The body already knows,
What the mind almost knows.
Thoughtfully constructed. Deeply felt by this reader. Hard to say how one should respond to this though. Seems so personal. Snippets in reaction: My mind and body are more confluenced than this poem posits. Demise seems too permanent. More a transition I'm thinking. The seed must die in order to live. A 'wandering mind' needs discipline. The kind of discipline that only the Creator can give in relationship. I don't know about you, but perhaps 80% of my thoughts are garbage that I dispose of quickly. Perhaps, in the subtext, one might hope to construe a cry of helplessness to the immortal Creator for understanding. Perhaps that's what you're trying to convey here. Our helplessness in all things human. If so I agree. Spiritual health is the key to the unity of mind body and spirit. Though anyone of them out of sync can disrupt the unity. Boredom, anxiety, and despair are the human psyche's major problems. Simply put people are bored when they are not being stimulated, either physically of mentally. If the body is controlling the actions the mind can easily be in turmoil and lose its focus. An interesting thought process, John. One I felt blessed to cogitate. Peace to you...
Our amazing nervous system connects everything and the body should tell the brain what is happening so that the brain should respond correctly. In my case, there's been a disconnect of the main cable, causing a great deal of misinformation creating a tough challenge as to what to follow, the body or the brain.
Your poem is an interesting delving into a very deep subject with a lot of unknowns.
Damn, John, I honestly don't know how to respond to this, it is THAT powerful, that scary...I've not got the intellect of your other two reviewers below so I will just say I liked it & to a degree actually understand it...(and thanks for stopping by & posting on my recent post, I am honored) -e-
yes, Her Majesty Body reigns in the world naturally, therefore, mankind still exist on the earth. What about His Majesty Mind? Do we need to get some kind of master-classes from those who are already far away from us, in the future?. . as the lessons of the past we never keep in our minds for long (and this is the body's nature of self-preservation), that could be helpful. . . since the body is always a step forward, this means that the coming developments are entirely around the human mind, not the body, which is eager to be stimulated. Today, such stimulations are mostly negative in manner and matter (dopes, alcohols, hopes, illusions, fancies, etc.). yes, "pretending to take a stand" the mind struggle for its future space, and 'to pretend' is its reliable working instrument. whoops! there is a soul, and that's a real problem. . . In a word, an anthology of anthropology and human psychology I read in these highly precise imageries. What's more, the start and finish are crossed nicely in a self-possessed manner. Congratulations with this dynamic piece! Cheers, alex
Although I, personally, would beg to differ with the seemingly impotent nature of the global mind in your poem, the references do address the "many" minds that seem to frantically react to stimuli, think that resolve is simply finding escape or overpowering one's differing spiritual instinct (completely void of any organized religion dogma) and for the most part, experience life as its slave, I choose to see the mind as a means of quieting life when needed by addressing trials and tribulations as lessons realizing to be learned there is a need for the stimuli to be absorbed and relegated as more layers of nothingness the body allows the mind to realize if only it will empty itself of the interlaced conundrums that over time shrink synaptic ability to discern experience worth contemplating and meditating over. Everything else represents the sludge of surrender.
A further collection of poems, many from years in the Middle East, but also the California San Francisco and Central Coast areas (Santa Cruz, Carmel, Big Sur, Berkeley, etc.).
NOW AVAILABLE!
This book is a limited edition, and copies are hand numbered. It will NOT be available through Amazon or other distributors. You must purchase it directly from the author or from this site. It is hard-back (not the spiral bind seen
If you tend to believe romantic, passionate, masculine poetry is a thing of past eras, read "She Intrigues Me," and be swept away in the beautiful craft of a contemporary poet of love.
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Your poem is an interesting delving into a very deep subject with a lot of unknowns.
Ron