Elk Teeth Visions

WHAT THE ELK BONES SAY

Elk bones tell us

you don’t have to clean

every bone you find.

Some of what’s learned

from collecting bones

gets lifted up in prayer.

Use rubber gloves

if there’s soft tissue.

Left in open air

to rot’s the best,

along with burial.

Bad things to do

include boiling or bleaching.

On dry bones

my friend likes

some steel wool.

Soaking in warm water

with biological washing powder

is ok for skeletons

with soft tissue. Take care

to rinse well, or enzymes

will eat the bone.

You don’t have to preserve

every bone, every breath

emptied of self. Dry bones

emptied of function,

coming into their own.

Not voices, but ears,

pure and unobserved.

Jim Bodeen

14 March 2016

ELK TEETH VISIONS

--for Marty

Driving Highway 12-West

to the Mountain, skis on board,

deadwood above the ditch

catches my eye—something

for the bonsai trees?

And then, bleached skeleton

of an animal, just beyond fence line,

Oak Ridge Wildlife Refuge.

Those bones might have

something to say to trees.

My landscape includes

the jeweler who fashions

for me, another vision,

winter counts helping me

to keep on breathing,

taking multiple forms—

sometimes lapel pins

with elk teeth, antlers

set in silver and bronze,

maps carved

will only be seen

by the dreamers.

Jim Bodeen

7-8 March 2016

ROOTED TRAIL MARKERS

Photos of the teeth

even with the skull

mislead my friend

until we return

for a second look.

Extraction shows

how fragile

they are,

shattering like clay

before the pliers.

Easy, easy.

Wrap the tooth

in soft cotton

using a smaller

knife, wondering

what will never

be known.

A memorial garden

of any other kind

could not contain

all that gets remembered here—

these teeth—

sentries will see to that—

Philosopher songs.

Jim Bodeen

8 March 2016