We are so guarded
about our privacy
about the sanctity
of our bodies
about personal
space which must
on no account
be crossed or
violated
Except when we
are at the dentist’s
and he says Open
your mouth or
at the doctor’s
and he says Take off
all your clothes or
This will not hurt
one bit or
passing through
security screening
at the airport
where the agent
says Step on the foot-
prints and raise both
hands in the air
If that should prove
not to be enough
Step outside
for another agent
to do the pat-down