DEAD ANIMALS
DEAD ANIMALS
Piece by piece
I make the puppies
your children cuddle.
Two plastic eyes
a stitch through the nose
plush fur and tiny paws
a tag
written in a language
I do not speak.
Five thousand per day
we ship
through so many hands,
machines,
and
boxes,
before they reach your home.
Before you make them dance
in fat little food-covered first-born faces
who give them names
like “Patches” and “Puddles.”
make promises to them
you don’t get to hear,
keep them close
until
one day
sure and certain
my dogs lose their power
to convince your children they are real.