This poem is part of a series inspired by a writing prompt from Flower Conroy. Each poem begins with the words “Body of” but then explores different elements: water, earth, space, human anatomy, even thought. I found that by grounding the poems in this one simple phrase, I was able to spin off into unexpected dimensions. The conceptual container (a body) provides the constraint. The limitless possibilities of mind and nature are the forces that blow through it. 

Jane Medved is the author of Wayfarers (Grid Books 2024), Deep Calls To Deep (New Rivers Press) and the translation of Wherever We Float, That’s Home (Maya Tevet Dayan) (Saturnalia Books 2024). She is the poetry editor of the Ilanot Review and a visiting lecturer in the Graduate Creative Writing Program at Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv. 

W: janemedved.net