The excavation ripples through the body
The skeleton in dirt the dirt at certain
Depths relative to the skeleton corre-
sponds to the shape of the living person
Thus anyone with the right coordinates
Could dig the shape of the person from the dirt
But made of dirt but with his skeleton
Inside it would it be an it
When cradled in the living arms of the worker
Because no excavator has yet been
Arm In The Excavator's Shovel
Shane McCrae
Shane McCrae is the author of the poetry collections The Many Hundreds of the Scent and Cain Named the Animal: Poems as well as a memoir, Pulling the Chariot of the Sun. He lives in New York City and teaches at Columbia University.