Mary Wlodarski
Horse Bone
I.
The tongue is supported
by the hyoid bones—delicate strips
on each side of the fleshy muscle.
II.
Thousands of years ago
probably outside the caves with the horse paintings
the family carried their daughter, too weak to walk,
burned a sacrifice, sent up curls of smoke,
wished to the gods that she might be well.
From the bones she clutched the hyoid,
her father carved their image
hung it around her frail neck,
and somehow she was saved.
III.
I want to wear the hyoid around my neck
feel the weight close to my heart
so that their language might seep in.
Mary Wlodarski is a native Minnesotan and a lover of all things animal. She currently lives in Oak Grove, with her two horses andminiature dachshund. She is on sabbatical as a high school English teacher and recently completed her MFA at Hamline University. Her current project is Speak Horse which includes “Horse Bone.”
She has had work published in the St. Paul Almanac and Versus Literary Magazine.