Plato believed the gods
           had aimed our eyes and feet
forward because looking
           backward, though necessary
sometimes, was less important
           for the fulfillment of tasks
than getting on with them.
           We were contrived to swivel
suddenly and jump, to hang on
           and wait for the right moment
to let go and run for it.
           Our lateral symmetry
and our bundle of bones
           allowed for that and for simply
walking away, maintaining
           the balance of our burdens
with our well-defined hands
           and fingers, sometimes more
eloquent than our mouths.
            He thought the spherical skull
had been fashioned purposefully
            in the manner of sun and moon
to keep the house of the soul
            from being broken into
by intruders. Our apparatus
            stood to reason and sat
to think better of it, knelt
            to save what little it could,
crouched to be slightly less
            apparent, or lay down
curled to be shut against
            (or at length more open to)
the wisdom of the night.