the kind of animal

that swallows its own tongue. that pie-plates its eyes. a telephone animal that won’t come down from the top of the pole. a kind with claws. a kind looking sloth with claws and pulp. cut from a cloth with buttons for eyes, he throws sand. he throws sand and a whiporwill won’t holler. a glass of warm milk. black ink dripping from nub. the wind kicking up and the dust fills his eyelids with lint. stuffed with it it weighs him down. straw in the mouth. a chain around the ankle. the toes.