Strand. String.
In this dream,

the paths cross
and cross again.

They are spelling
a real boy

out of repetition.

•

Each one
is the one

real boy.

Each knows
he must be

wrong
about this, but

he can’t feel
how.

•

The fish
and the fisherman,

the pilot,
the princess,

the fireman and
the ones on fire.

Copyright Credit: Rae Armantrout, “Pinocchio” from Conjure. Copyright © 2020 by Rae Armantrout. Used with the permission of Wesleyan University Press.