Beyond
the nape
of the mountain,
where water is money:
biochemical
ritual in the cone of skin
giving old true names
to these exertions:
the fluid of the air
this reagent
hollows bones for flight
O pinion donor
uncoiling in the curlicue
of your human mind.
Quills horns teeth;
the marzipan pads of feet;
the star cuts a tail-groove in the sage;
the limbs swing, a sweaty
curtain that spills
onto the cold foam: advances
& retreats in crustacean steps.
The lid of a carapace,
a cocoon, seals overhead;
the gold placental light,
a pure note that smites
the human wrack
in the animal town of the head.
