Navel               by David Lee Garrison

That circle of skin,

the yang and the yin,

sets each one of us apart,

a fleshy work of art

reminding us we are born

when a knife cuts a cord.

Belly button, birth scar,

umbilicus, mark

of mother’s attachment,

rounded remnant

of the conduit which delivers

nourishment, that river

of life.  Bashful hero

hiding in a tiny hollow.