In Passing
There is something inside
each of us
that scurries toward the past
in our bodies a rooted history
perhaps in the balls of our feet
a microscopic yearning
that floats inside that sphere
yearning in a language we've forgotten.
History is too in our knees
in the ball that pops
& twists as we journey.
And for those of us blessed to be old
& for those of us blessed to be young
it lives inside the tiny ball of skin
deep inside the belly button
tickles recollections from our tongues
stories of stories from then—
history lives in circles & spheres
floating
always suspended
waiting for release.
Copyright Credit: Matthew Shenoda, "In Passing" from Somewhere Else. Copyright © 2005 by Matthew Shenoda. Reprinted by permission of Coffee House Press, www.coffeehousepress.org.
Source: Somewhere Else (Coffee House Press, www.coffeehousepress.org, 2005)