Poetry2ponder's Blog

“No body is perfect” by Trevor Witt

Nobody is perfect.
No body is perfect.
Bruised, scarred, traumatized,
Scared, temperamental, irritable,
Acne, a bad knee, with memory failing,

Our physical, mental, and emotional faculties
Fail us sometimes, like professors
Who try to teach us, but still make mistakes,
With ill-conceived jokes, offensive statements,
And, worst of all, inconvenient facts,

Like our parents, who want the best for us,
As long as we fit their molds of success,
With their fears assuaged, and their hopes fulfilled,
Then we can chase our dreams, as long as
We are careful — so that we don’t get hurt.

Like partners who say the wrong thing,
At a time of vulnerability — or worse,
They were not there when we needed them.
Mistakes and apologies are made.
Sometimes there is forgiveness.

No body is perfect,
As infections inflict suffering,
As we are ignorant of the causes,
Bacterial, viral, fungal roots?
Anger, hurt, hatred, a poor upbringing,
A chemical imbalance, traumatic brain injury?
Healing usually involves a lot of hurt.

Nerves connected, but separated,
Put together impulses — thoughts and actions,
And we act, like we understand, we pretend.
And I act, with confidence, though I am nervous.

Are our nerves us?
Our brains and spinal chords?
Synapses firing to control muscles,
To send immune responses, to do something —

I don’t know how it all works.
But it does, sometimes.
Sometimes, we suffer
Alzheimers, Parkinson’s, ALS,
HIV, long Covid, depression —

Or simply aging, the regular
Wear and tear of life:
Work, sports, carrying children,
And caring for them, and for our parents.

The feet ache, the hip hurts,
The back goes out.
Fat accumulates.

Zits, cuts, scrapes, scars,
Wounds, amputations, deformities, anomalies.

Unique degradation, after miraculous — if imperfect — growth,
No body is perfect.

No body is perfect.

Nobody.