landscaping

with our trowels we cut Xs
into the softest earth. i watched men
as they carried bushes by the neck.
the valley proliferated 
with golfballs & boy shoes.
soon we will all be archeological.
planting women up to the waist 
for future use. their hair 
like jungle gyms. rain fell 
in catacombs & then in veils.
snipping off our pinky fingers
& burrying them on the other side.
waiting for a great tree to grow
from what was once our hungers.
tree bearing apricots. rain 
turning to oil. a fire feeding
on the downpour. from there 
we removed organs. hearts 
& irises & pennies & mugwort.
a sacrifice is a parting away 
of the pieces. here is the self
that will not walk back.
children in their echo robes
being led barefoot into the furrow.
i wanted a rose bush. i wanted 
a tomato tree. here arrive
the thorned eagles. onion grass
beneath the skin. asking soil
to kneel into quiet hills.
a bicycle undoing the world.
here is where the roots 
will become legs. here is where
my ankles are entombed.