posable figure

i was a wooden darling 
on the shelf of your fascination.
i begged for you to come here & give me 
a posture. your knuckles
like skirt hems. your paper
rolled from the tree. 
the human figure is measurable.
a series of careful spheres
stacked one on top of another.
you foraged for my geometry.
pulled my nose from the grave.
sharpened a pencil 
with a steak knife & put
a thumb to my mouth. 
all the lamps in the world 
own your secrets now about shadow.
i'll keep my head lifted
so you can scoop the dark
from beneath my chin.
how did you know you wanted
to be a puppet-keeper? i knew
i wanted to be a figure 
from as little as a twig. i stood still
in the woods, hoping 
to be turned to stone. 
keep me this thin & believable.
make a beautiful portrait of me
with the long hair i don't have.
shave me down to the elbows.
leaning on tables. writing 
an iris on a napkin & wiping 
your mouth with it.
the truth was my femur.
all the bones inside a blue.
what will you use to measure
my wing span? you spend
too much time staring the ceiling 
to pieces. i want you 
to crave that image of me.
stay up all night 
to get me perfect. discover me
in the depths of your own mouth.
pluck my leaves from the floor
tracked in the house 
by your own aimless shoes.
oh, will you keep me then?
will you try again. move me,
i want to mirror 
the fancy dangling behind you face
like a scheme of vines.