Contents
This Worm of Furnace
I’ve Never Swum with Dolphins
A Transparent Man Is Hard to Find
Portrait of My Mother as Mule
Origin Story
Walking Home After the Graveyard Shift
When, at Last, I Meet My Mother Again
Wings Poised Like Knives
Portrait of Myself at Fourteen, as Saint Rose of Lima
Senbazuru
Palinode: Myoclonus
Faint
This Animal Self
When I’m Gone, Don’t Remember Me
Outside Paradise, Everything Is Other
The Beast by Its Harness
In the Human Zoo
Security Guard, Robert Gober’s Untitled (1989–96)
On Fallibility
Portrait of My Daughter as Pink Flamingo
Many Dangers, Toils, and Snares
My Father’s Parable
For Sport
On Confession
Just Enough to Draw Blood
Looking for the Tell
Pentimenti
I Found Love in the Hall of Mirrors
This Page from My Pillow Book, This Page from My Bestiary
After He Breaks Her Arm
Shivaree for the Bride-to-Be
Apologia
Such Guts as Gifts
Portrait of My Lover as Zombie
When the Dazzle Isn’t Gradual
Maculate Conception
Love Song for the Nutria
Portrait of My Daughter as Dominatrix
Fifteen Years Later, My Mother Apologizes
Portrait of Myself as Precious Stone, as Accident Waiting to Happen
Maggot Therapy
Nothing Gets Me Hotter than a Punch in the Face
Intersections
Cicatrix
Howl
Portrait of My Mother as Kitchen Utensil
Majie
Portrait of My Lover as Medium
Refuge
If Life Gives You Lemons, Make
Apology for My Recklessness
Mother, Self-Portrait, 2006
Aubade
Dear Lindy and Balboa, Dear Charleston and Shag,
Acknowledgments