take something sharp

& begin
        observe
the crescent curve of his back

folded fullmoon        the rabbit world opens

        thickly; darkly bound these stitches
                you are bookbinder        cartographer

                historian: this body of work to be studied
the rabbit measures by its teeth

where all wisdom is stored        how it discovers

its existence        identity

        kit & kindle

                                its rabbit-proof
remove the incisors        these are your luck

the feet may be soft & more sightly

        yes, but they are

        merely decoration
knowledge is the greater fortune
        ask the rabbit on the tall ship

        the rabbit with the pocketwatch
        (((((
the ribs like bows unstrung        beware the sharp end

there will be no fairytale wound
                sleep awhile, if you will

                but expect no handsome visitor
its capped heart a flask for

what?        linseed oil?

        fodder for careful creatures

        ears raised & a phosphate thump
label the provinces:
        calcaneus        carpus        cranium        femur

        ilium        mandible        maxilla        phalanges

        radius        scapula        sternum        tibia
                                a rabbit atlas