Steven Stewart
Taming the Bull
I finished Kakuan's 10 Bulls and caught
my heart. I overpowered it, made it beat,
stop, and wiggle. With will alone
I switched my pulse from fast to prudent.
I even fluttered it with love for humanity
and my ex-girlfriend. I quickly mastered it -
in no time I was tinkering with movements
and tempos and stopping it on dares. I held
a woman's hand and matched my pulse to hers.
I cut myself and only bled when I needed to.
I even gave a demonstration at the local
high school and started telling kids to say
no to drugs. My little brother started
calling me "sir," and that sounded right to me.
But something's wrong now. It's late but
it's not working on its own. If I don't
make it, it doesn't beat. I'm weak and tired.
I'm lying here, strangely content, thinking
there must be a lesson in all this, quiet.
Steven Steward lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife, Erin.
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