The Parts of the Body Talk About Paradise
John Gilgun
Ink drawing by Priyadarshi Patnaik
Bellybutton
My task is to sit at the center and hold the body together.
If I relaxed, it would revert immediately to chaos. So chaos
and control define my existence. Paradise is a perfect
circle and I reflect perfection. But at birth, the cord that
connects me to the circle dries and drops away. My
guiding spirit is the sun. I reflect essential energies.
My color aura is red. At death, the circle of perfection
descends and I'm returned to Paradise. Death rattles
the body and reintegration begins.
Nose
Woof, whiff, wilt! Paradise is the smell of piss, of
shit, of sweat, of sperm, of blood. Like a burrowing
animal, I dig my way in and root around in it, roll in
it, kick up its dust. I am the patron saint of dogs,
sacred to sour meat, my aura radiating from every
lamp post, bush and tree. When the wind blows
from the rending plant, I'm halfway to heaven. God
is skunk cabbage and on the eighth day he created
rotting fatback.
Backbone
I am a million miles of conduit and ductwork through
which essential light radiates. Listen! You can hear a
billion synapses clapping hands. The absence of Paradise
is silence, all circuits shut down, all messages delivered,
the messengers' bicycles locked in their racks. Mathematical
beauty is what I convey and Pythagoras is my patron saint.
The music of the spheres is what I conduct and Paradise
leans forward in her orchestra seat to listen.
Skeleton
  Paradise is a cupboard
  in which vital organs
  are stored. Paradise
  contains, Paradise
  supports. Paradise
  creates an opening
  in the air and sashays
  through. Paradise is
  calcium.
  Cock
Paradise phones.
I grab a Yellow cab
and go over to his place.
We fuck ourselves blind.
When I come, the galaxies
clink-clunk like bedsprings.
That's all I have to say about
Paradise. Could there be more?