This body it is for
by Eben E. B. Bein
Gyrinidae have unique, divided eyes and secrete a terpene-based chemical when disturbed.
Past edge grasses
in the reflection of the mountain
in the reflection of the beaver lodge
between jay cries and a miles-off motorcycle,
in that quiet—where each reed
is as sharp as its image
and autumn-orange leaves
fall and splay among lily pads,
the whirligig beetles
make their rounds.
On the shore, my body
has crossed its legs again
laid wrists to rest
like so, balanced
head atop its column
passed ribs back and deep
through their dimensions
and still the brain
ripples with beads of obsidian,
eyes for above and below
the surface and is it even failure
to shiver infinite circles
among the blades and lilies none
of us can stop
being who we are
even in the fall
precious turner
this body it is for joy
did you know,
if caught, a thought releases
the scent of green--
a freshly bitten apple?
Past edge grasses
in the reflection of the mountain
in the reflection of the beaver lodge
between jay cries and a miles-off motorcycle,
in that quiet—where each reed
is as sharp as its image
and autumn-orange leaves
fall and splay among lily pads,
the whirligig beetles
make their rounds.
On the shore, my body
has crossed its legs again
laid wrists to rest
like so, balanced
head atop its column
passed ribs back and deep
through their dimensions
and still the brain
ripples with beads of obsidian,
eyes for above and below
the surface and is it even failure
to shiver infinite circles
among the blades and lilies none
of us can stop
being who we are
even in the fall
precious turner
this body it is for joy
did you know,
if caught, a thought releases
the scent of green--
a freshly bitten apple?
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Eben E. B. Bein (he/they) is a biology-teacher-turned-climate-justice-educator at the nonprofit Our Climate. He was a 2022 Fellow for the Writing By Writers workshop and winner of the 2022 Writers Rising Up Winter Variations poetry contest. Their first chapbook Character Flaws (Fauxmoir lit, 2023) is out and they’ve published with the likes of Fugue Literary, New Ohio Review, and Columbia Review. They are currently completing their first full collection about parent-child estrangement, healing, and love. He lives on Pawtucket land (Cambridge, MA) with his husband and can be found online at ebenbein.com or @ebenbein.
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