THE DAINTY MONSTERS
Michael
Ondaatje
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For John, Falling
Men stopped in the heel of sun,
hum of engines evaporated;
the machine displayed itself bellied with mud
and balanced—immense.
No one ran to where
his tense muscles curled unusually,
where jaws collected blood,
the hole in his chest the size of fists,
hands clutched to eyes like a blindness.
Arched there he made
ridiculous requests for air.
And twelve construction workers
what should they do but surround
or examine the path of falling.
And the press in bright shirts,
a doctor, the foreman scuffing a mound,
men removing helmets,
the machine above him
shielding out the sun
while he drowned
in the beautiful dark orgasm of his mouth.
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