Seat of the soul
(For Olivia)
The soul’s seat
Is no soft perch
It is precarious
Like a sparrow’s nest
In a wind storm
The bits of branch
And string are sent
Unraveled and crossed
Scattered and spread
Across water, sky and ground
The soul is so easily released
Blown like a bit of dander
Wind pushed and waving
Then caught in the flesh
With a snap
Like a baseball
In a well-oiled glove
Here it is arrested
In a corporal envelope
A frozen pond
With trapped reeds resting
Seized at mid-rot
The soul changes states
Like the water
The ice cracks
Melts and merges
Solid to liquid
Every molecule
Shivering and shucking in joy
At the touch
Of brothers, sisters and lovers
Unknown till then
Josh Kight 10/24/04