the skull has been punched once        twice           eleven thousand years later, the paleontologistfits another tusk into the holes & sees           what damage the mouth can wreakonce upon an epoch, one mastodon bleeds out           & another one has a killer toothachemastodon, no one ever told you that a hairy coat           hides all the blood       or that the headweeps from any hole it sees fit to           when your bones are resettled in the flooddo not mourn the scattering of jaw from rib           & hasn’t the heart always begged free of the tonguewhen they find what remains of your mouth, smile           finally revealed despite the blue effort of glaciermastodon:                the words breast + tooth in Greek           that was my last kiss                              my best kiss