an itch somewhere
an itch somewhere - on a cheek,
a breastbone, elbow or thigh
these are places of instigation,
where the orders between
our desires and our futures
break down, where the heart
gets under our skin and a sense
of pain sets in to hopeful avail
everybody has an itch, or ought to
for only the itches and the yielding
to them, to their needs, and the way they careen,
can teach us to care enough for our own hands.
Posted 02/03/12
after Robert Michael Pyle's essay on ditches from "Thunder Tree: Lessons from an Urban Wildland"