A man lies sleeping

or unconscious on the sidewalk while
a kneeling fireman checks his—what?

Breath, or pulse. His mechanisms.
He has some moving parts. Lungs expand

heart pumps and what is more mechanical
than a pump? Still there are questions

about brain function. These are vital signs--
maybe in the back

of the ambulance is one of those contraptions--
metal disks with wires yellow green

stick them on your head it makes a ticker tape
of how your brain arcs little sparks

between cells of the tissue packed in your skull.
That’s how you make a fist or blow a kiss. Signals

travel on pathways trafficking your impulses
branching to your extremities. Someone told us that

but it's pure horseshit. You have no idea
how you make a fist or blow a kiss

it's second nature,
it's just obvious.

Even the foremost neurologist can’t tell us how
without resorting to a shrug.