That everything has use beyond its given life,

that all the different parts of the animal provide
for sustenance or strength, so we must wear its skins,
smoke its flesh, drink its blood to honor what it gave;

and we’ve been taught
the mouth of the world opens,
hungry for all that happens
to fall in its path;

and there is talk
to take the measure of things,
to bluster and cajole,
or make us brave;

and we might pause
to supplicate and pray,
fashion words for love as well
as talk that circulates as useless currency

and sometimes it is difficult to tell
which one is which, and that is why we braid
lengths and lengths of stories by touch while we lie
in the dark, awaiting what we cannot know.

 

In response to Via Negativa: Reed.

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