Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Self Portrait

a framed pencil sketch

hangs cattycorner from my crib

an amateur’s rendering of

a hand, a baby’s head, a wrist


someone thought the execution

good enough to frame, good enough

to hang in a baby’s room

parts of a baby for the baby


ivory paper, smudged gray lead

clear glass, a black frame

how old am I when I recognize

my own self? dissected


the parts refuse to cohere, head

without a neck, hand here

wrist there, no arm, no body

think about who must have hung it


how many years pass before

I smash this mirror, splinter

the frame, tear up the sketch

bury my remains in the attic


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