Once I was ordinary: br Sat by my father's bean tree br Eating the fingers of wisdom. br The birds made milk. br When it thundered I hid under a flat stone. br br The mother of mouths didn't love me. br The old man shrank to a doll. br O I am too big to go backward: br Birdmilk is feathers, br The bean leaves are dumb as hands. br br This month is fit for little. br The dead ripen in the grapeleaves. br A red tongue is among us. br Mother, keep out of my barnyard, br I am becoming another. br br Dog-head, devourer: br Feed me the berries of dark. br The lids won't shut. Time br Unwinds from the great umbilicus of the sun br Its endless glitter. br br I must swallow it all. br br Lady, who are these others in the moon's vat —- br Sleepdrunk, their limbs at odds? br In this light the blood is black. br Tell me my name.