The Great Book of Bats
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It’s almost obscene,
                      the snout,
             the entire head
jammed up the hole
                      till all that’s visible
            are the legs and the wings
trying to fly straight up
                      the funneled
            flower, a creature
giving itself up
                      so completely
            to sucking
the boy can’t shut the book.
                      Hairy, slit-faced bat,
            long-tongued bat.
dog-faced bat, snout-nosed bat.
                      Pages of them
            like mugshots:
thumbless bat, large-footed
                      myotis, trumpet bat.
            Solomon’s naked-backed bat,
with froth on its face
                      and a gasp
            of surprise. Leschenault’s
rousette, Chinese pipistrelle,
                      Cuban fig-eating bat.
            Australian ghost bat,
an entire planet of bats.
                      Here's the picture
            the kid keeps
turning back to:
                      Philippine sable-winged
            flying fox
plucks a frog in mid-
                      mating call
            and bites
into its small song.