I am Joe's Frankenstein

(dedicated to Reader's Digest)

You know me, in parts
anyway. One piece
described at a time,
organ after organ,
skin atop the meat
and bone. I am Joe's
Liver, his Kidney, his
endocrine system, all
part of the whole. But

I don't remember if
we ever met. My name
is Joe, and this is me
all at once, whole, more
than just summed parts,
and medical warnings.
No one ever asked me
if I wanted to be scattered
across the years, separate

issues, the same sad body,
somewhere. I live to be
your good bad example,
but sometimes I dream
of secondhand bookstores,
Reader's Digests Five for
a dollar; I dream of scissors,
thread, and vital collage.