—on a photo
out of coolblue,
a bison
out of bitter cold,
out of stratospheric skyblue,
a crystal bison
from stillness, sheer, and mute
as speech in utter space,
from deadstill blueice,
steps a crystal, a bison
apparition
a bison frozen in veneer of chilled time
from cloven hooves to heaped hump
its mere eyes, its cryo-olfactory nose
smelldeaf due to rime
a bison crystalized steps forth,
a deliberate articulating jewel
hung on the neck of stilled rhyme
speechless
a graceful parentheses of horns
frames its frozen skull
each as sharp as the point of
breathing-everything
its intent:
survive
Jim Culleny
1/29/19
Photograph by Tom Murphy
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