ORGAN MUSIC

1.      The Song of the Liver

Thirst was made for water almost

more than the other way around
for what does water thirst for
but to drink the ground
to transform one thing into another
to salvage and to discard
to separate and tear down
to bear the derelict thought
down into the ornament of limbs
with the courage to dance alone
and stand and swirl and roar
above the sand unfurl the shell
of self and build another shore
 
 
2.      The Song of the Lungs

Unseen birds sing

in the twin trees
of the lungs
whose leaves
keep the red of fall
before they fall
in the spring
of an old soul-hurt
become a body’s hardening
xylem phloem and bark
whose breath is so unselfish
they live on what’s leaving
discard what others need
keeping rooted in the earth
barely a breeze in a reed

 

3.      The Song of the Kidneys

What are they listening for
those ears at the bottom
of the stairs when the breath
comes down and stands there
turns and then ascends
they hear voices in the blood
bringing word of the outside world
whether to be afraid or laugh
to feel betrayed or saved
learning to fly upwind
against too much emotion
or to pace and run in circles
frantic as a lost child
the blood that rushes in amazed
and rushes out as red and wild

 

 4.      The Song of the Heart

If it's really feelings and a few thoughts

that pump the blood through the heart
then what is the heart’s purpose
except to cup the blood like a hand
and hold it fast for a few moments
in its arriving and departing
the fresh flushed face
at the window of the bus
the wrinkled body entering the flames
here in the heart they break
side by side without touching
the blue stallions of the dead
riding past the children of the red
flowing in opposite directions
proving the heart is not the head