Percussive

Percussive

The strain and drape of clothing against skin,
measurements converted to volume, sensation.

Socked feet sliding against a tiled floor,
a sandpapery whisper deep in the instep.

Numbness sputtering into splintered pain,
a hand or foot reawakening to itself.

The big sting under an eyelid solved
in the retrieval of an eyelash, a tiny fishhook.

The gentle pressure of a cool fingertip
against the throat, percussive, verifying bone

or indentation, the places by which the body
is exposed as tent, frame, drum head.