May we creatures of bone and tissue
know our bodies well:
the fourth rib, and how it rises
higher than the third, not so high as the fifth;
how it feels to the thumb, slowly traced,
and under it, how the heart rests.
May we know that space where
no ribs lie, and unshielded, we bend.

May we know the bottom of each
toe, and that tender arch where
no skin touches ground;
also skin amoothed soft by clothing.

May we know the quick curve of the head
before it sits on the spine,
and the tiny hollow just behind the ear;
the length of the forearm,
lifting food to lips, and how the lips become
a circle, waiting---and knowing this,
cease our study of war.

--Nancy Shaffer