Body Talk

What I talk about when I write about the body,
in the adapted screenplay—a decade
played back in ninety minutes.
Shot in a waiting room, a three year old copy of People Magazine,
asking, “Who wore it better?”
And all I can think about is the hand holding the crinkled pages, writing this experimental treatment. A science fiction melodrama
set in the wild west of my organ systems.
The outlaws, top-billed
babesia, bartonella, borrelia burgdorferi—
sounds like Bergdorf’s, where handbags cost too much too.
Color-coded tubes and thousand dollar filters drain the blood
from my face, arms, torso,
drawing out the enemy
until their white flags hang high within my organ system.

An invasion of the Body Snatchers, shot in living, breathing color.
The studio says “take two,” and “we’ll call you in the morning.”
And I pop another pill
to conquer the microbes in my biome, outnumbered ten to one.
Ending with a long shot, somewhere near a kidney
Where I realize there are two producers of this picture:
the microbes and me.

-amy bobeda

This poem is quite personal, and my tactic was to shoot continuously, because there is no pause button, reshoots, or better angles when it comes to health. The juxtaposition of light hearted props and the high cost of health is meant to remind us all to be playful in even the darkest times.

Amy Bobeda

Amy Bobeda is a poet, theatre maker, and blogger living in the Bay Area. Her video poems have been featured in Cinema Poetic and PoetrySeen. She tells stories about health, the soul, beauty, and femininity.