Commentary
Hi there.
Home can have many definitions, but the skin and other organs we inhabit is, to me, without a doubt the most essential home we all have. To participate in our daily lives and fulfill our duties, it's necessary we focus outside to complete our work, prepare our food, and maintain our living spaces.
Amidst all these obligations, it's easy to lose sight of what our bodies can be telling us internally, or even to resent all the maintenance the different parts of us may need. This seems especially in a broader culture where acknowledging these body parts or their needs can be taboo and fraught with shame, and we have little shared understanding of how to cope with our shared grief for their inevitable decay.
There's an inherent absurdity to this repression my most intimate writings tend to puncture, often with results that may be considered humorous or inappropriate. But that's not my intent. First and foremost I just try to be true to the full spectrum of my experiences through words. Then I respond to the compulsion to share in the hope that they may reflect what others are going through or inspire them to open up as well, instead of continuing to keep what maybe matters most to them in the dark.
On a more self-deprecating, but nonetheless honest, note, I can also read in this poem how much internal dialogue my overactive mind must go through to justify slowing down to check in and manage the bodily sensations I’ll often avoid. The trap of this tendency to just keep going, however, is that whatever’s happening with our physical and emotional states then just get projected onto other people and activities, so we see the world around us with much less clarity and patience.
So come on in to this brief, roughly polished facet of my experience, and see how much of yourself you can recognize in reflection. I hope you enjoy and gain a greater sense of acceptance for your own self-care.
Come Home to Your Body
A drip of spit from your lips
spinning in gravity’s pull
shining down the sink skin
someone really oughta Drain-o,
but right now they need care.
Five fingers singing
through the bristled history of countless hairs,
worries expelled out the scalp
heeding the heart’s calls for help.
Ropes bind inside your thights
tying up tears in your eyes
lungs of expression rubbed between rib bars
the past lives of hips pick the lock
before dying in parked cars.
Swallow and belch
sounds add to the empty space
you don’t pretend to understand yourself,
just remember what you meant to do,
see how much you can still stand,
and stand still.
You’re not a perpetual motion machine
but a potential emotion being;
the -ing means change
so fuck what you had planned
ask your butt when it comes back around.
Love every moment so much
you stay longer than you thought you should.
There’s no wrong way to be free
only your one right to be Me.
Video Reading
Note: My editor and I are still working out the kinks in our work flow, so future videos should have better quality. Stay tuned and thanks for bearing with me.
Feedback request:
Do you have a process for unwinding from other activities and getting into a self-care mindset? What gets in your way? Let me know in the comments or a personal message.