Poetry Jam: reVerse engIneering pAradise

Moose, @ the lodge, Liberty Mountain Snowplex, Lynchburg, VA

HTAED was the name i gave my cat
in anatomy class

'How morbid,' the other students said
extracting theirs from the thick walled plastic bags
which crinkled harsh with each shift
once stacked neatly, cord wood bodies
tofu textured beneath glass faced cabinets

that first day, separating skin
with scalpel, from muscle
of Fluffy,  Percival,
Mr. Whiskers and such

fur slick on the fingers
as pulled taut, squealing
& moaning, they scrAPED
back to tail where it hung
half mast

HTAED, with his rictus grin,
& i silently shared a joke
at this backward dance
of understanding

life, in his death---wash your hands
all you want, the smell of pReservation

won't come off---

give it a name,
                   let's make it personal

but whatever you do
                    don't lick your dactyls.

written for Poetry Jam.

That really was the name I gave my cat in anatomy---and no one really understood it, but....forgive an old man for thinking back on his birthday....smiles...returning to my own days in high school.