Gyl Gita Elliott

The Fifth Element

Pratyahara,
withdrawal of
the senses,
is one of the eight limbs
of yoga–
the elusive fifth.

Consider the kiss of sun
on skin:
can it be undone?
Is common sense a sense?
When I lose feeling in my bum
am I sensing numb?

A taste of tepid coffee
on my tongue
sparks a reverie
of summer on the Seine,
the stench of sour beer…
How did I get here?

Look at your nose,
Listen to your breath,
Feel the depth,
the breadth,
the breast?
Now I’m thinking of sex.

Move on, detach,
undo, unlatch;
curl inside a world
within,
erase the boundary,
begin.

Gyl Gita Elliott spent many years teaching yoga and Japanese on the West Coast. She now writes poetry, sings songs, and enjoys her home in Eugene, Oregon.