My father was de-boned as a child.

The trick was to use a sharp knife,

steady hands and always begin at the neck. 

With luck, my grandparents

were able to remove his spine intact.
But all-muscle can’t hold love upright.

You see strength needs something

to settle itself around. Boneless men

can only stay where they are bent to.

My father was made to cut 
his own beatings off a tree,

like pentimenti I sometimes see through

his scars, a perfect whole. But you can’t

dream the broken out of a person

no matter how hard you try.