The Shell.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

i once had
a beautiful body
many beg to
touch it
many want to
sleep with me
even without
any responsibility

i look at myself
in the mirror
grateful for this
body

i had conceit
like a prince
of arrogance

time is my enemy
my body wears out
skin is loose
and bones become
brittle
there is a squeak
when i walk

sometimes i
regret having this
body
since i never had
used it
the way others
want it
if they had it

i tell myself
that it would have
been better
if this body
is the body of the
one i love

it would have been
more useful
perhaps lovelier
and i would have
been happier


my body is silent and indifferent
it has no independent mind of its own

it is one of those shells
where the hermit crab dwells