Autocannibalism

okay
   death
here are my socks
my old love affairs
my collection of children's magazines
the car i stole from my neighbors
                             after they'd moved away

here's my piano
here are its legs
here are its guts

i could fake it
        by playing all the trills
        just reminding
                        you of childhood
        but you're serious
here   take my childhood
like eating a carrot
                        starting at the root end
after awhile you'll get to the top
                where it still looks alive
                                           and green

from Purgatorial (2004)