mold me from the granular silt of earthen mud

that sticks beneath weathered fingernails and

lodges in the pores of scratched skin. but do

not be rough lest i turn into some amorphous

being of bone dust and watery tear-streaked

glaze. add thin strokes of bleeding color to

knobby limbs that protrude stiff and cloddish

from the various crevices of my body. but beware 

if you poke too hard the cobweb-stretched skin

hanging from bones may deflate and leave me a

sagging argil corpse. spread dark forest death 

ink onto my half-blind irises with calloused

hands. be wary that i may lick up the bitter dye

and taste it with a tongue reddened by sweet wild

pomegranates and loosened by 

faceless grinning shadows begging to be spat at. 

braid restless hair with sticky hibiscus petals that

seep crimson into black strands and shape my flesh

with needle-sharp fingers. for a newly carved piece

of pottery i may look unseemly but the russet-sun

breath of the kiln will bake misshapen breasts and

too-lengthy legs to blistering beauty. paint pale

white and dark brown in careless dappled spatters

until each crevice is a mishmash of melanin. brush

stray hairs and stray tears and stray drops of

glistening exhaustion with solemn but steady final

touches until i become a misshapen malformed 

magnificent masterpiece.