O I say, these are not the parts and poems of the Body only, but of the Soul,
O I say now these are the Soul!
~Walt Whitman “I Sing the Body Electric”

she is but
a body
of water
waning
waxing
pulsed by the moon’s own
slow and steady
respiration

outlined by human frame
she sits on blue velour
car seats
sewn with silver stars
her celestial throne
behind an idle wheel
traffic stalled

all of these vehicles
separate
on a two lane road
longing
just to move

soft heavy skies
full of river and sea
make a bed
for jagged bolts of
lightning

her motor hums
brake pedal releases
wheels roll
three full
revolutions
stop

above
staticky synapses
fire fleeting fingers
below
Aretha Franklin
sings the body electric
through the car stereo

Dr. Feelgood’s
live
at the Fillmore

hands hold an unmoving wheel
her skin rises to meet
sound
music traces spine
this driver’s form
the conduit
through which
all senses pass

the scent of moist salt air
mixed with exhaust
the crescendo celebration of love
vibrating through
speakers
bouncing on eardrums
rattling her heart
the silver blue
cracking flashes
of illumination
the sweet taste
of a destination
three hundred cars ahead

and the pull

that tidal draw
of a shoreline swoop
the feel of sands sucking
beneath soles
strong and fast
the deepest inhalation

she can dig her heels in
hold tight
or surrender

she is electrified in stalled out traffic
goose bumps and Aretha Franklin
spilling clouds and lunar tides
breathing
with the moon