Flesh

Flesh is ever under duress;
we oppose it to the soul,
and as such it loses significance.
A flesh wound -
'tis only a distraction,
a mere fraction of pain,
and not to be regarded
as a truly mortal injury;
cutting the flesh
is not cutting someone to the quick.
Flesh color -
theoretically a kind of non-color,
a pale halfway between yellow and pink and orange,
unlike to color of people of color,
the color of bandaids and lingerie,
crayons and shoes and makeup
for white people only,
the only possessors of flesh
who count.
The flesh of the bodily surface -
the skin, not the deep bone,
the obvious superficialities,
not the subtlety of blood,
what feels the immediate impact
of environmental change and flux,
what others can physically
strike with fist,
kiss with lips,
tongue lap licks.
The pleasures of the flesh -
degraded beneath the pleasures of the mind
despite the fact that the mind
experiences its pleasures
only by being embodied in brain and flesh;
carnal delights are lascivious and libertine,
tending to create a hot, wet mess
but nonetheless
a symphony cannot be heard without fleshly ears,
nor a painting seen without fleshly eyes,
nor a paradox pondered without a fleshly mind.
The flesh of foods -
meat or fowl or fish,
but also the vegetable
and the fruit,
the pulp or the muscle or other
edible component parts;
but food is yet another
sin-laden desire of humanity.
The anatomical flesh -
the muscle and fat
between skin and bone which,
depending on its quantity
and its quality
may indicate self control,
control by others,
or entire lack of control all round.
To flesh -
to add weight,
to add detail,
to incite,
to initiate,
to remove the meat from the hide,
but never to mind,
to substantiate,
to soothe,
to calm,
to heal,
to be.
The flesh is cleft,
the flesh decays,
the flesh destroys,
the flesh delays,
and ultimately we suspect
we lose the flesh
at the end of our days;
but from the Goddess comes rebirth,
and so flesh can be the site
and the source
of endless praise.