I climbs the ladder
twisting away from the wall


I cleans the adder, sets him loose
to crawl the bedsheets of the bathroom stall


in daylight broad as the sun
and as deep as the sea


and will continue--to set before him
the things he wants to eat


chicken egg or leaf
marrow yolk or grief


(rat after rat after rat
eat and eat and eat)


if that is all there is for me to know
when seeds don't sprout


and plants don't grow