C’est la Vie

This body she had been assigned did not seem prone to cooperate. As she reached for a salad, her hand veered off course and selected a large bowl of lasagne instead, then bypassed the carrot juice for a chilled glass of rose. She did not understand. She had been led to believe that that part of her that she had brought to the body would be in control of the brain, but that did not seem to be so. A small portion of the cheese separated itself from the body of the pasta and pooled on the plate. The body smacked its lips as it took a first succulent bite.  The lasagne was delicious. She fought the reaction but it was too late. She had already experienced it.

Another body sat down beside her, to her left. It was a male body and upon the table it placed a plate of salad and a glass of carrot juice. “That looks delicious,” the body said, motioning toward her plate,

Immediately, she recognized something in this body. Something of her—as though they had somehow mixed up components. She had heard of this happening. She saw him raise the carrot juice up to his lips, casting his glance over her glass of wine longingly, regretfully.

As if on cue, she raised her own glass to her lips. “C’est la vie,” she thought, but did not give voice to it. If this was to be a dissolute life, it was not of her choosing. Some trick of fate or oversight of administration. She lifted her fork. She would be principled in her next life. It was not her fault, this slip. She might as well enjoy it.

The prompt for NaPoWriMo Day 1 for 2022 is based on Robert Hass’s remarkable prose poem, “A Story About the Body.” The idea is to write your own prose poem that, whatever title you choose to give it, is a story about the body. The poem should contain an encounter between two people, some spoken language, and at least one crisp visual image. Image by Joshua Chun on Unsplash.