Tonight's Poet Corner: Bounce

Bounce
by Belinda Roddie

Your fingers coil up like springs;
they contract, then release. They
get caught in the collar of my sweater,
press down hard on the nape of my neck.
I expect the texture and temperature
of steel. Instead, the warmth is worthwhile.

We bounce together. Hands, lips, knees,
every soft part of us that flips the bird
to gravity: We bounce together. Jostling
for dominance on a personal trampoline,
we grapple and shape our bodies like
basketballs, ready to be dribbled and

dunked and defying physics. We bounce
together. Our frames are released from tired
mattresses and boards. We break slats
with bruised knuckles and pretend that
the pain is less than the skinned knees
once we make contact with gravel. This

is how we stay alive. We jive, dance
on the roundest parts of our feet, kiss
the air so that our mouths form a perfect
U - just a semi-circle, but close enough
to leave a shadow on Earth's circumference.
Its girth gives us plenty to love, but here,

on the moon, the heights we reach are
more intoxicating than the oxygen we lack
without helmets. We are astronauts striving
to touch the stars without a pogo stick.
Haven't you always wanted to jump a little
higher? Hold my hand, love, and we'll bounce.