or the brain? One theory has it
the brain created the body, thinking
Let there be nerves
and the hemispheres divided, thinking
Let there be eyes
and the brain saw that it was good.
For memory's sake the brain invented the nose
and for alertness, the ears.
To serve the stomach the tongue unfolded
but the Word crawled onto it.
The other view believes the body
manufactured the brain as a computer,
autonomic programming like a thermostat,
our desires the fuel that keeps us alive.
In our likeness a baby
craves experience. Mother lifts him
to her breast knowing milk will never be
enough, wondering how long before
he sits up, walks
into the garage and drives off.
Mama, he cries
but inside he's already checking out
her curves, trying on his fighter pilot look,
sucking oxygen through a tube.
The soft spot on his skull
vibrates like an eardrum
and for a moment, one bite of time, his brain
sounds hollow like an empty stomach.
Suddenly he wants everything,
Shakespeare in two ounce servings, Euclid
in a pie, Freud at room temperature
through a nipple
but he can't express this, not yet,
except by falling asleep,
mother shining down on him, his lips
shaped like a perfect omega.