The Body You Need

 "And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife." - Genesis 3:21

Return to the fur.
Grow wings like a dragonfly.
Grow fangs.
Grow talons.
Grow padded feet with retractable claws
for soft silent stalking.
Grow a howl again for moons.
Grow oblong pupils gleaming with dark sight.
Sprout gamy fuzz for sleep entwined
on forest weeds with another pungent beast.
Crush thyme with dew and flies
into a musk of your own.
Flare nostrils for knowing
what things are without names.
Out-spiral a ram's horn or Panic goat prong
for butting and dazing your soul.
Grow bugle songs for rutting season.
Learn to quiver again: that was your dance.
Grow rippling pelt for shedding mosquitoes and rain.
Grow feathers for preening when you rest midway
on your infinite migration.
Grow the body you need to be war.
Grow the body you need to be wild again.
Wear it like a jeweled and scented cape
inherited from some ancient sow,
birth mother of your royal species,
still guiding your herds and flocks
with her ageless odor.
This time, do not wash off the smell.
Do not remove your skin.
Wear your animal with knowledge,
with thanksgiving,
until the Sacrifice.