midwife

stumble
through snow
         mounds
              belly-deep
         form
elemental
letters

         enter
a blood
         warm            barn


finger
         the fevered
lips
flush
         the slick
passage


catch
         the clotted
                  knot
                  of flesh
         its first
word-mews

embrace
brief
warmth


outside
         white hills
                   so cold

Pieces

“Anyone who suffers from an inheritable disease may be surgically sterilized if, in the judgment of medical science, it could be expected that his descendants will suffer from serious inherited mental or physical defects.”
—Law for the Protection of Hereditary Health: The Attempt to Improve the German Aryan Breed

In agricultural breeding programs,
the removal of certain parts is necessary.

Horn. Tail. Hoof. Testicle.
Minor surgeries.

Remove calf from uterus.
Remove milk from cow.

Burn horn buds to brass circles.
Press needles into flesh.
Slip a band to the scrotum’s neck.

Meat from bone.
Tooth from mouth.
Tongue and sex. Remove.

Collect the clothes.
Trade gold teeth for a cigar.
Close the door and crank the switch.

Burn.

March 13, 2025