Larry Chang: Poems

Corpus

1980, Revised 2000

To have a body
Through which to feel
The sun’s warmth
The wind’s caress
The icy waters of the mountain stream
To hear the bird’s call
And music’s note
To take the pulse of life
Throb the rhythm of the dance
Enjoining orgasms of the universe
Were we born.

But that same body
realizes pain, conveys not-rightness
tenders vulnerability
to others’ misguided energies
to which we respond with more venom
poisoning the body
Through which we feel.