Aye Aye

Aye Aye

Tiny lemur once thought to be a rodent,
the endangered aye aye is related to chimps,
apes, and humans.
                                         –National Geographic

They took your body to the lab
and brought your skeleton back,

forepaws and rear feet
mounted in a straight line along

a tree limb bought from
Burlington Biological Supply.

You would never have perched
like that and, even if

you still wanted to scramble
head first from the canopy,

there’s only the bony
ghost of the hand you once used

from grasping, no way to tap
on tree bark, rip it open,

and reach in with your crazy-long middle digit
to pull out the sweet, larval meat.

Boulevard, Volume 33, Numbers 2&3