Bone Collector
by Allyn Bernkopf
Think of this as building a soul.
Attach the horse skull to a set of shoulders.
Because it is a skull, don’t worry about long lashes
or a mane. Place strawberries in eye sockets.
Orange rind under cheekbones. Organize
a bushel of cherries in the lower jaw to create
the tongue. It doesn’t need to be perfect.
That’s not the point.
Take the shed snakeskin to form the neck. Because
the skin is fragile, wrap it three times for support.
For any gaps, use lavender. Do not crush the flowers.
If the shoulders need to be built out, find branches
from the juniper. The same you found and burned
in Goblin Valley.
For the body, send four cardinals in their own
direction. Have them gather the first they find.
Yes. You learned this trick from a god.
The first brings back an armadillo, the second finds
a goldfinch. The third returns with a toad, and the last
drags back a street cat. Arrange each of these
to fit inside your own.
Suggested:
Stretch the cat under your clavicle.
The armadillo can ball up just above the solar plexus.
Fill the space of the ribcage with the toad.
Rest the goldfinch soundly like a heart.
For the legs, attach branches of a cherry tree from childhood.
They are old, but sturdy. Wrap them in the shells
of the robin eggs you used to find. However, Aspens
are better suited for the arms because they are malleable.
Take care to wind threads of willow wood through the white
bark for extra support.
These, too, can be collected from memory.
The hands and feet should be harvested from the humans
you’ve lost. You should gather from the old and young,
as no one can escape this pause.
So you are not a dumb being, look up &
raise your new hands to the moon, the stars.