UNFOLD ME GENTLY
MARLENA CHERTOCK
This poem also appears in Chertock’s “Crumb-sized” (Unnamed Press, 2017)
Unfold me gently, I’m brittle
calcified stardust. Me, mineral dense,
collagen quirky. Unravel the cartilage
from my joints, throw my bones
to the unloved dogs. The curve of my
ear canal might make a suitable home
for a hermit crab. Send my misshapen
hips to Maryland — their geographies match.
Unhinge each of my vertebrae, jellify me —
I was never straight to begin with.
∘∘∘