two years of forgetting.
between forgetting and forgetting again.
think: once, were they tickled? kiss kiss bitten?
those baby feet. coo baby. coo.
and tender touch. sigh, tender sigh.
mama lines up a row
of ten soldiers.
four will fall. the smallest.
they will fall. this day
snap. and cry.
who cries. slim determined hands
twist. wrench. break.
beyond the wicker frame
break.
tiny arches. tiny toes.
think: these are pliable bones.
think: fold back to the dice and under and wrap.
tightly.
bandages. to stunt growth. decompose recompose.
blot the stink.
focus: tight.
focus think: old agonies are just
our stories.
a decade of unwrap. wrap again. wrap again.
do the toenails curl, and cut? hope those toes fall off.
are you septic.
focus.
think: focus:
there are 48 documented sexual pleasures
these doll feet will experience. or satisfy.
these will be rare. erotic hooves. ecstasy.
focus: in embroidered silk slippers, golden lilies.
focus: four inches of broken made from nerve and
sweat. and determined sacrifice.
totter. perch.
think: she will dance
upon a lotus shaped platform.
