the body is more than the bullet.
the brain sends out signals and for now,
let’s call this a courier, handsome
young galloping lad. without tired,
how would bones know they rest in muscle,
a herd of bulls waiting for orders?
blood is shy, all day hiding in you
and asking the same worried questions.
the things that the mind learns
while it hangs on a thread
(that the Chinese character for sound
combines SUN and RISE for when
the world wakes with the light
and sounds of life begin)

2.

the bullet is less than the body.
simpler. gunpowder and a small,
metal exclamation mark.
the bullet can end the body.
the bullet makes the news.
money, in an alley, listens and plans—
it knows better than us what fears
we pass from one mind to the next,
through the generations

3.

the body builds more bullets.
we go back
to step one

Formula for the Body and the Bullet
by Alex Boyd
from: Brick and Bone, ©2004