What They Don't Teach in Massage School

Sometimes you have to search:
Each body is the same and each is different.
In some the joy is curved in the outer
gastroc belly; in some it twines between

the sixth and seventh ribs.
Some people carry it prisoned in the forearm,
nestled in a sheet of tissue that connects
the radius to the ulna. It's seldom where you expect.

You arrive at the zoo, pretending to visit.
In the bustle of closing time, you pull
A warm key from your pocket. Quick. Thrust and turn:
fade into the crowd. Go home.

The tigress won't move, won't blink an eye.
Her ribs rise and fall. But you both know
that in the dark of midnight
a nudge of her head will swing the door wide.