by Liam Strong
after Yitzi Hurwitz
for ritual & non
ritual purposes, i am cloven, split-hoofed, [head
& heart separated from the ground]
by legs. or a synonym of
such.
blank face of the ruminant, a holy & un
holy cancellation.
[g-d wants us to eat them]
[g-d forgoes the benefit of consuming negative traits:
growth]
[g-d inputs a kosher sign between my 5th metatarsal &
calcaneal pitch]
the balance of drawing good closer
[to the left] where the limb
is a correct
length. this depends solely on the viewer, who is rarely me.
through [&] through. connection to our earth[ly] pursuits
involves [constant] effort via:
feet
hands
mouth, teeth, cheeks, etc
broken nose
flayed knees
right buttock
idiopathy
the [coming of] moshiach
is most likely east or at
least to my right from here. if there is only [animal] soul in me, there is not enough
to gnaw on. hunger often has [nothing] to do with food or cardinal directions.
[when we go against our nature] proximity becomes a discipline. bones
& cartilage & muscle endorse [belief] like the spiral
of an ibex.
[when] my
walk turns to dust i won’t [be able to] catch up with the caravan of the dead. which is
to say that the cripple is not beloved, &
therefore unclean.
g-d does not cure, g-d ends where their intellect ends so then [as it wills]
even the meat of [lambs.] even them, their hooves carved in equal
measure. talisman of the up
right, their signature in the sod. where authenticity begins, at the talus,
the ankle. where erasure begets
censorship, forbidden lineages of flesh. where it
ends, too. because if i have to trip, then i have to fall.
Liam Strong (they/them) is a genderless question mark and the author of three chapbooks. They died in 2021 and have been writing ever since. Find them on Instagram: @beanbie666. https://linktr.ee/liamstrong666