Another Me

Inside me, Inside this–
Where?
Inside this body?
No.
This mind?
I don’t know where, but
I have another body
Another me

I have fingertips that still feel
The warm skin of loves long-gone

Arms that still hold infants
Who have since grown

I have another mouth
Where flavors linger for decades
And where the never-before tasted
Is delicately real

I have a voice that rings pure
That speaks truth and sings power
And cries rage unhindered by physical limits
Unafraid of being overheard

I have ears that listen to the angels
And devils around me, inside me
Ears that know the sounds of the womb
I left years ago
Ears that listen closely
For the voice of God
In every word and birdsong
In every car swishing past
In the street

My other body feels a hunger
That can never be satisfied

And it knows a satisfaction
That will never go wanting

My other body is pure
And sees no stain
In physical defilement

My compassionate senses
Witness but never judge
Behold without looking away
And cradle what is broken and incomplete
Against a calmly pulsing heart

My other body is as big as the sky
And smaller than an eyelash

When I live from such deep senses
The creatures in the night
Feel a bristling of their antennae
And the stars are happy to see me

–Laura Sandage 2010

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