“Body Tap”, “Pneuma”, “Transcendence” and “Holy One”
By James Shelley
Body Tap
As part of my morning constitutional
I would like to drain my toxins
the dirty crude oil staining my sheets
But where to drill the hole?
There is a precedent–
the old-time surgical art of trepanning: drilling
into the skull to relieve pressure
But what if something else is syphoned, like
old memories?
Can leeches be bred to suction black fluids?
When they die and drop off, I will know
they succeeded
How about a short aluminum tube
inserted at the back of my neck, like
those jutting from sugar trees in March?
The sound of expungement:
blackness, pinging into a covered metal bucket
Pneuma
Thank you
For flinging me into the abyss
To find my way new again
Falling,
Travelling
downward past cold strata
Smooth sides glass shimmering,
wanting to touch
But this is not a tactile experience!
Plummeting has a nostalgic sound
Wind cuts in and out depending on
how you angle your head
like the wind-buffeted microphones
at Kennedy’s grey November funeral
How strange to hear divine breath
while falling
Transcendence
My arms sweep back and flatten
into titanium wings
Ice shatters into high velocity
shards, blinding the other managers seated
around the conference table.
No one sees me slingshot myself
through the ceiling
Broad green valleys
Infinite plains
Skies I have never seen before
Air sonically booms in my wake
Holy One
A young sparrow born without eyes
hops across my back yard
Having never seen flight
it cannot grasp it as a concept
Or maybe it can, but
has chosen another way
Hearing my voice
it hops towards me
Like anything holy
it has already surrendered
James Shelley’s poetry and short fiction have been published in Great River Review, Iconoclast, The Lakelander, Peacock Review, and he is the winner of an Ohio Arts grant. His novel, The Deep Translucent Pond, was published by Adelaide Books (Brooklyn, NY) in 2022. The novel strategically weaves 40 poems, composed by its three characters, into a lofty plot to “re-enchant the world”. He taught (Humanities) and counseled at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio. Jamesshelleyauthor.com
