Long Pig
Long Pig
I came to speak about luck but I fear dismantling what is already
simple so I will say only that if you are fortunate enough to have
a body you shouldn’t leave it lying wet on the floor where anyone
could shred it to bits it is worth treating well see also the perfect
pine replica of my breastbone which fell off the wall shattering across
the tile see also the sixteen-celled fetus half-mine lost in the plumbing
of an apartment we lovingly called the Trash Castle say something or say
nothing the options are always the same and often so are the results
some birds have feathers but can’t fly and even they cherish
their flesh bathing it in sand or snow every animal longs to be bare
to chew through its fur and melt directly into weather like dry ice there is
a moment of startle when a thing really sees itself for the first time
a shock of hey me it’s me you in this way we are all each others’ mascots
equal and opposite in my dreams I am a cannibal eating long pig
in a strange unmappable country it seeps into my living I stay a throb
of hunger and brainstem if you move even a little I will take you in my mouth
Originally published in Literary Hub.
