YOGA

the teacher surveys her class
wavy tresses of dark hair envelope her face
cascade down over her shoulders
her torso erect but relaxed
lithe and supple limbs folded improbably beneath her
now she rotates her head
like a chameleon rotating its eye
and i let my lids close shut
extinguishing the soft light
my mind homes in on other senses
the muttered words of semi-comprehensible korean
trickling lightly over pebbles above the distant traffic roar
the slowburning discomfort pervading my awkward foreign body
contorted into this alien pose
lungs slowly filling and emptying
the female warmth of the hall
the sweaty odour of vulcanised petroleum
nose pressed against the rubber mat
i attempt to meditate
struggle to concentrate on the right body part
stubborn thoughts difficult to restrain
fly off into forbidden realms
the trivial
the carnal
the physical
the metaphysical
slipping off momentarily into dreamsleep
sliding abruptly back into consciousness
this clumsy cuckoo child in a nest of little chicks
who does not fit within the narrow confines of the mat
his gawky outstretched limbs in perpetual danger of assaulting a neighbour
leaving broken eggshell on the ground