Taxidermist’s artworks, corsages,
lie in a hatbox.
lie in a hatbox.
Horrible beauty of talons
and shiny thorn beaks.
and shiny thorn beaks.
Loosened petal-fronds
release hues of night.
release hues of night.
Stiff quills disassemble
and collapse into absence
and collapse into absence
as an underground seam
of darkness rises.
of darkness rises.
