SELFSAME

The body divided
down the middle
reflects itself
so deeply we see
no division —
yet the zebra’s stripes,
the giraffe’s mosaic
cannot hide
this mirroring.

My friends watched
as I divided my body
in the boys’ room
faux marble partition,
made my eyeglasses
mysteriously descend
to rest upon my face.

In the ad for TVs
the leopard’s spots
ripple with each stride
until he pauses,
turns upon us
his primal gaze,
then leaps
clean through —
theatrics
one wishes for oneself —
the screen collapsing
behind him
a slow-motion
shower of diamonds

by Scott Condon