Our Brand New Bodies

Oz Hardwick 

Our brand new bodies wait in line, glittering like fish that
swim in the deep space of dream. They hang behind
glass, mouthing promises of plenitude and Sun-warmed
waves; of days that stretch to utopian infinity.

Our brand new bodies are not available on the high
street. They are exclusive and bespoke, adapted from
stock fantasies in order to fulfil our every individual
desire. They are sleek and supple, and stitched by
invisible children we do not need to think about.

Our brand new bodies are switched on and smart,
Bluetooth compatible and operable in extreme
conditions. They are High Definition, vacuum-sealed
against infection and the sense of all our other selves.
They have no expiration date or state id. 

Our brand new bodies come with certain conditions and
negotiable guarantees, with small print in all known
languages except our own. They come with the promise
of freedom, but with strings attached, though for ease of
travel, they may be transported in reinforced tubes.

Our brand new bodies fit perfectly. They are what we
have always dreamed of. They flex their fingers in the
cool air. They are writing this poem.

The Science

This poem arose from reading papers from the annual IEEE International Brain-Computer-Interface Meetings, and marvelling at the rapidity of increases in speed, accuracy, and range of applications of technology. I particularly find developments in prostheses which transmit a sense of touch exciting, as they mark a major step towards closing the experiential gaps, as well as the functional gaps, between those of broadly diverse physical abilities. 

As well as being excited by these advances, I am also interested in the philosophical questions to which they give rise, concerning the point at which augmentation becomes incorporation. My prose poem – a form perfectly suited to exploring fluid and contested boundaries – responds to this through the languages of Golden Age Sci-Fi and advertising, with both their promises and their caveats relating to assumed ideals and expectations, but the closing shared action gestures towards a hoped-for equality.

The Poet

Oz Hardwick is a UK-based poet, photographer, occasional musician, and accidental academic, whose work has been widely published in international journals and anthologies. He has published nine full collections and chapbooks, including Learning to Have Lost (Canberra: IPSI, 2018) which won the 2019 Rubery International Book Award for poetry, and most recently the prose poetry sequence Wolf Planet (Clevedon: Hedgehog, 2020). Oz is Professor of English at Leeds Trinity University, where he leads the postgraduate Creative Writing programmes, and lyricist with Russian space rock band Space Druids. 

Next poem: Relating to the Leaf by Alan Wagstaff