Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians
19 South 22St., Philadelphia,
Aug. 25, 1997
Dear Indivisible Duo,
I offer you a peak into this carnival tent/cabinet of curiosities,
skull by skull:
#28: Protestant soldier, suicide by gunshot wound to heart
(because of weariness of life) North Hungary
#30: Painter, suicide by potassium cyanide
(because grief after abandonment by mistress) Vienna
#40: Catholic suicide, cut his throat (due to
extreme poverty) Polan
You have perused my autobiographical x-rays so you won’t be
surprised I joined the goth circle at the glass candy jars of congenital
anomalies, among them the famous skeleton of “Siamese Twins”
who I prefer to know as Chang and Eng Bunker of Wilkes County,
North Carolina. Both joined the confederacy. So much bondage. I’m
reminded of your bonsai, pruned and trained with copper wire to shape
an exact asymmetry. Sometimes I feel a conjoined twin was removed
from my sternum. Maybe why I feel so stripped and smothered when I sleep,
Anatomically Yours,
Bonsai Bob
the circle where trees
must be scarified
to speak
Judson Evans teaches at Berklee College of Music, and serves as Co-Editor (with Lew Watts ) of Haibun for Frogpond. He has published two collaborative books of poetry: Chalk Song with Susan Berger-Jones & Gale Batchelder (Lily Poetry Press, 2022), and Gear, with the accompanying book of photographs Remote Viewing by Ray Klimek (Meshwork Press, 2023).
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Heavy Feather Review 