long licks from the
corrosive coronal

pale dogwood papillae wet-sanding
bare-necked baby girl's earth-salted skin

a square of silicon carbide
refining away dings and scratches

leaving acid streaks and worrying
mouth-shapes into the finish

diligent downturned crescents

to be touched is to lose

top soil to the clutching wind
another game with the warden

a finger to the table saw
dead leaves to the defoliator

she swallows her loot like a librarian
lunching on a primary manuscript