by Trenten Johnson
Body from Body like amoebas, there is only one wise asexual parent who's regeneration preserved self becoming first to rise after that early false night turned dawn. Body from body one substance sole, dirt and breath bound into naked slime. Every life ripped off from the side, incubating under an arm budding out of a hand or foot. Body from body across generations— membrane division of spirit— pulling apart, becoming new. A father, a mother, all things collapse into one body; mangled into a thousand parts, blood strained from flesh. Body from body ad infinitum. Imbibing, engulfing, with reverential greed the consecrated carcass. Cannibal transmission. Piece by piece transcendence. As death is by breaking and blood birth is by breaking and blood.
Trenten Cox Johnson, 1982–2005, earned his BA in English with a minor in philosophy at BYU in April 2005. He presented his original poetry portfolio at the National Undergraduate Literature Conference (WSU, 2005) and later that year received an honorable mention for the 2005 Ethel Lowry Handley Poetry Prize. During his time at BYU, Trent was a member of FAD., the Forum for Artistic Discussion, and April, a writers' group.This is his first posthumous appearance in Inscape. Trent would like to take this opportunity to perform the Riki Tiki booty shake.
