A Meditative Journey through the Senses

The world is astounding on so many fronts.

My brain translates hundreds of signals at once.

And all of it comes so naturally.

I know what I’m doing because I can see

All the shapes around me, hear the buzzing and bells,

Feel the touch of cold metal, the savoury smells.

I wonder if I would still get on fine

If I only perceived one sense at a time.

I close myself off til there’s nothing around.

All of my focus is now just on sound.

A soft murmur tells of the people nearby.

Some voices are low, and others are high.

The clinking of metal sounds like ice on the breeze

And something sounds squishy like mud on my feet.

I’m getting the picture as clear as a bell,

But a bell is just sound. What about smell?

I open my nose and I’m taken away

To grandmother’s kitchen on my 9th birthday.

The garlic and onion bring warmth to my soul

It’s summer in Rome. It’s red tomatoes

The smells are beginning to make my mind race.

My body is begging to switch next to taste.

I push down the feeling before it’s too much,

Cuz next on my list is the feeling of touch.

Invisible weight pushes down upon me.

I raise my arms slowly against gravity.

I flex all my fingers and feel the strain

As they hyperextend and my tendons complain

And then reaching further I now feel heat.

Something’s been placed here just within reach.

I cringe as the texture engulfs both my hands.

It’s wet and it feels like slippery strands.

I feel myself cringe like I’m touching my brain.

It’s happens on instinct, I cannot explain.

My focus is gone and I’m forced to comply

With my body that tells me to open my eyes.

I’m met with a stare and a mouth that’s agape.

My moment is gone and I’m fully awake.

There’s 4 more adults who are sitting around.

They’re looking at me and they’re all wearing frowns.

“Jesus christ Mark!” my mom yells at me.

“Get your damn hands out of my spaghetti!”