Preparation

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The Bone-man lives in a stucco 
house. He ticks his heels

on the cold terrazzo floor. 
He parks his ragtruck

in the yard, instructs his crew 
on the white telephone.

I am training my dog
to attack the red-capped hunter

bearing his long package.
I am training the tethered jay

to cry out against
the killer who cracks the latch.

On the open map, the road
to my house bulges like a vein.

He takes a train, he rents 
a car, he lurches in

with an open fly. Sweet Eve 
was just the Farmer’s Daughter,

he wooed her with a wormy apple. 
He’s a dirty joke, he’s

always everybody’s last 
lover, he’s a regular

can of worms—you wry Medusa,
I am a mongoose staring you down.

© Ellen Bryant Voigt