I feel your body
in your fingertips.
I see your soul
in the pathways of the prints.
Silent channeling
of want and need
flow via ten-point connection,
electrically recharging through epidermis.
Pulses beat beneath.
Nerve endings send vibrations
to the nervous system of our psyches.
We chase each other through whorls,
under arches,
and over ridges,
surveying a slideshow of our lives
from childhood to now.
Countless sensory experiences
have grazed these fine lines,
scarred these prints,
created history with their contact.
It takes just tips
tenderly touching
to fill us,
to entrance us,
to pleasure us,
to ground us.
Illinois Woman’s Press Association
2024 Mate E. Palmer Professional Communications Contest
FIRST PLACE
Single poem: Pathways of the prints
***
National Federation of Press Women
2024 National Communications Contest
THIRD PLACE
Single poem: Pathways of the prints