the museum of curiosities
You can see the two-faced kitten for only a dime.
A monkey riding a goat for one dollar.
The creatures line up in their glass cases
and watch the humans wander through unmarred.
Posing with hats and umbrellas.
With coats and eyeglasses. So human
and yet, they, too, arrange themselves on cue.
The woman and child holding a cookie
in his fat little fingers. The man carrying
a briefcase filled with bibles. They hover
over a box of birds. All of them, bodies falling
so cleanly into their part.
The girl clutching her broken doll was so sullen
All pinafores and petticoats and pout.
Later, at a place called home, the mother
will tuck her into bed, smooth the curls
from her hair. Here, the rabbits
stand wide eyed through the night.
The lights in the museum dim
and we all feel the animals in our bodies
unwind, curl, and fall fast asleep.
