The Fiddleback

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A boy who will say temperature is a vertebral question
who has an algorithm for spiders

A boy who has a story about crayfish
        about egg wash
        about polyglots talking about a nap

who likes the chart of the relative heights of presidential
candidates and their successes, despite the fact that since 1900
the shortest candidate has almost always lost

A boy who makes shadow puppets
who gives physical challenges
       – do this one without using the last two fingers on your left hand

A boy who asks after your paper cut-out alphabet
         after trying to buy implants from an ad on the radio
         after googling them
         after the retiring of the holding of hands

The boy with the blue-eyed semiotic for howl
         with kinetic thoughts about the weather
         with highlighter sneakers (like yours)

A boy who can reset a plastic-backed kitchen drawer in its hinges

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Davy Knittle is a graduate of Wesleyan University and a 2011-2012 Thomas J. Watson Fellow. His work focuses primarily on the process of becoming acclimated to subways, bridges and dogs and to changes in landscape, scale and temperature. His work has been featured in elimae, Philadelphia Stories, Jai-Alai and Natural Bridge among others.

 

Volume 2, Issue 1 Back to top