Blunder And
Frightening 5.13*
Stretch and push
casually past
the nubbin,
pink-pulsed
and octane-numb
to the rub of grit,
in short huffs
heightened
against lactic drag
to a buzzard's view.
Forget
and it's vertigo -
the last swig
of booze, jostled
knees of an ottoman, blitzed
eyes seeking comfort
in a book, or dead ones
in stone.
Resume the trust,
the thrust,
the serration all
that matters
above the rising mound
of bones.
* Rock
climbers rate the difficulty of climbing routes using a number system
in which 5.13 is as difficult as it can get and still be possible
to climb. The climber who first puts up a route will give it an outlandish
name such as Blunder and Frightening.
Reanimated, In Six Parts
Part I: Found in the Woods
It looks
to be a stone
until
I
kick it loose,
revealing eye
teeth poking
from a mouth-
ful of dirt.
Part II: The Extraction
Formulas
and rites
comprise
my yellow
calculus.
Part III: Night Of Conception
Quality glass-
ware and cut-
lery.
Later, a play
in three acts
about
a certain man
lame from the womb.
Part IV: Incubation
Lay feather
beside feather.
Don't breathe.
Part V: Third Tri-mester
Mother dotes, spoils
him with gourmet
ice cream.
Part VI: Birth
I
turn away
at the sight
of his crown.
