Spine

How does it feel to be the spine? The spine is one of the most remarkable parts of the human body. The spine feels all the emotions that one encounters. I am the spine for many.

The spine wants you to live, despite the….

Anger, fury, irritation, rage. The arched back with a head held high, hands clasped tightly behind. The concern of hunching forward. The deception, hands balled into fists, hiding palms behind one’s spine. The defeat, with the head down, slumped shoulders and upper back. The disappointment, frustration and slumped posture, hands behind one’s back, with one hand gripping the opposite wrist or arm. Distraction, anxiety, dread, and concern, keeping one’s back facing a wall. Distrust, apprehension, suspicion. A feigned disinterest, where one turns their back to an attractive person. Flirting, friendship, guilt, humiliation. Overwhelmed, in a fetal position, in which the spine freely bends.

As the spine, I feel sometimes, arched like a witch’s cat, bruised like a football quarterback, curved like a snail’s carapace, flat as the roof of a school bus, muscled like a well-bred stallion, pearlescent velveteen covered by dewdrops of perspiration, pinned by a spear like a butterfly to a board, raw as fresh liver, ribbed like a skeleton wrapped in plastic, rippled like a tidal pool, smoother than a velvet cushion, stinging as though pierced by a voodoo-doll pin, tense as a…