Λύσσα


           When you are bitten by a rabid dog,
the decapitated head is mailed to a lab in-state.

Bats are kept intact. Horse & cow heads never

fit in the recommended packaging, so you must
   remove the brain carefully, specifically cross-

sections of the stem & cerebellum. If you have

to ship a horse’s head, wrap it in a lot of plastic,
    encircle it with ice packs, & fit it in whatever

cardboard box you can. Because this will look

unseemly & ridiculous, no postal carrier or transit
       service will be able to deliver it. You have to

take your own car or rent a private vehicle.

 Only mammals suffer from Meningoencephalitis
due to rabies. Has this ever happened to a whale?

How many warped & dying buildings

             have you driven by & wondered
what’s inside? What if they were actually

containers for the brains somebody

            couldn’t drive across the state, virions
& Negri bodies stirring like irradiated anthills,

a massive Lyssavirus blinking just beyond the glass?

 


Chad_Foret.JPG

CHAD FORET

Chad Foret is a native of southeastern Louisiana. He completed his MA in Creative Writing at Southeastern Louisiana University where he served as editor of Manchac Review. He is a third year PhD candidate in poetry at USM. Recent work is forthcoming in Nashville Review, The Double Dealer, The Tishman Review, and elsewhere.