Of The Body

And what of the other net? The one
we willingly give ourselves to, it is that beautiful-
each knot so carefully made, the curved
plate of the sternum tied to the shape of breath,
the perfect hinge of the knee that opens and closes the earth.
The water of the eye very cold, very clear.
And the sturgeon, the golden carp, how they continue to elude us.
Swim straight through and are instantly gone;
though a shadow flickers, remembering.

Jane Hirshfield