This Body

Becoming A Spiritual Guide for Navigating Adulthood

By Kayla Parker

From Skinner House Books

A spiritual companion for young adults and all who live amid transitions and tensions. Dozens of carefully selected readings address themes that are prominent for people in their twenties and early thirties.

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This body is not what it was
I got shin splints from running today
Ten years ago all I’d get was smelly feet
My back aches just from sitting these days
In my youth, all my pain came from climbing trees

This body is not what it was
Not some alien thing thrust upon me
So clumsy, always in the way
I know it and move it like it’s mine
Didn’t say I never walk into walls from time to time

This body is not what it will be
When the sagging of old age sets in
And ­simple backaches are fond memories
So I’ll take and enjoy what it is right now
Not yet frail from old age but sometimes awkward and weak
(Really, it suits what’s inside quite nicely)

This body is not what it was
Or what it will be
And thankfully, right now
It seems to just fit me