armadillos

Chaetophractus vellerosa

The Armadillo Story

The armadillos refused to board.
Not only were two places four too few
but Chaeto-4 was nowhere to be found
the morning Noah raised the alarm.
Left behind & two days later
when Chaeto-4 was discovered
at the bottom of a dry acequia,
the family of armadillos climbed:
Phractus, the patriarch, at the head
followed by Chaetos -1 through -4
with Mama Vellerosa swinging
the far tail. Forty days & forty nights,
scarcely ahead of the rising waters,
the armadillos ascended Aconcagua,
each & every one of the 6,962 meters
to the summit, & on the 41st day
they rested. Below them, Noah’s boat
swirled in the currents. Above them
swarmed every species of flying
insects, all refused by Father Noah
in his desire to be rid of stingers &
biters. Thus, the armadillos fed
& fed & fed until the rain stopped,
the waters receded, the land dried,
the armadillos descended, & life
went on as before – dry, hot, godless.

found in Cafayate, Salta, Argentina

A Day in the Life of an Armadillo

for single-malt
a strange attractor

for a full mouthful
an albatross

for the lot underwater
a banana hand

for an abdominal plank
a cerebral cortex

for fluency in Chinese
a balance of payments

for the load of laundry
a tanker truck

for mango malasadas
a cure for miconia

for derring-do
a fish in the coffin

for the inkwell
an alternate life in Philadelphia

for a John Deere
the gold crowns

for the groceries
a Mexican divorce

photos by C. Vollum