Weighing In By: Rhina P. Espaillat

1. What the scale tells you is how much the earthhas missed you, body, how it wants you backagain after you leave it to go forthinto the light. Do you remember howearth hardly noticed you then? Others would rockyou in their arms, warm in the flowthat fed you, coaxed you upright. Then earth beganto claim you with spots and fevers, began to lickat you with a bruised knee, a bloody shin,and finally to stroke you, body, drummingintimate coded messages through musicyou danced to unawares, there in your dreaming and your poems and your obedient blood.Body, how useful you became, how lucky,heavy with news and breakage, rich, and sad, sometimes, imagining that greedy zeroyou must have been, that promising empty sackof possibilities, never-to-come tomorrow.But look at you now, body, soft old shoethat love wears when it’s stirring, look down, lookhow earth wants what you weigh, needs what you know Weighing In By: Rhina P. Espaillat