The singular movement
of a body
falling

from another body
inaugurates the gap.
And then there is a baby

to photograph
and a photo
to separate out and say

this is what she will look like.
And, as we watch,
she becomes herself.

Meanwhile, we arrange
ourselves in
the surrounding landscape

and scrutinize
fossil skeletons that
just barely resemble

us. I am looking
for instruction.
Once there was a girl

who outgrew
her body, as the cormorant
transcended

the edges of
bird. Once there was a woman
who had a baby

–a girl–
and found herself
beside herself.