Capitis sans Dermis

Smooth unlined forehead thinks nor grieves no more
Expressionless but for a grin: not wonders, reacts, delights
Eyes once seeing have gone to soil or lab or coffin, dark times two
Here the tears cried lachrymose at seeing what’s beneath
What for the empty nose- no longer curious at death
No longer shall it grow when the lies unspeakable show
A bite remains without much force
Those molars separating individuals when flesh is gone
Reminder of lineage: eat meat eat nut eat plant eat dirt
Chin held up strong and properly
Without body or layers- hard but breakable
No nodding head, no “yes” nor “no”- separate from axis
A spine no longer but here held a past
Essential foundation, cranium protection
Slowly dissolve to carbon, decaying grin
Be mouse or horse or encasing human brain
Organ moldering years less than the smiling, eyeless skull.

The original poem was written during the A&P Practicals I was proctoring on October 17, 2013 where I drew a skull looking at the lab manuals (picture to be posted soon). The title roughly mean “head without skin” using the Latin/Greek words generally used in Anatomy and Physiology

This work by Sarah Holmes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License