no other stock That is irrevocable, perpetual And its to keep

Each body has its art, its precious prescribed 

Pose, that even in passion's droll contortions, waltzes, 

Or push of pain--or when a grief has stabbed, 

Or hatred hacked--is its, and nothing else's. 

Each body has its pose. No other stock 

That is irrevocable, perpetual 

And its to keep. In castle or in shack. 

With rags or robes. Through good, nothing, or ill. 

And even in death a body, like no other 

On any hill or plain or crawling cot 

Or gentle for the lilyless hasty pall 

(Having twisted, gagged, and then sweet-ceased to bother), 

Shows the old personal art, the look. Shows what 

It showed at baseball. What it showed in school. 

 

[Gwendolyn Brooks {1917-2000} 'still do I keep my Look, my identity...', from Selected Poems 1999]