Oh, let me be Dürer’s rhino.
Gird me with plates,
Gridlocks and grates,
Hinges too narrow
For spear-tip or arrow.
Dragon has soft spot
But not Dürer’s rhino.
Please, make me be Dürer’s rhino.
Twelve brutal toes,
One switchblade nose,
Fearsome and magical,
Natural-mechanical.
Lion fears fire
But not Dürer’s rhino.
Yes, I should be Dürer’s rhino.
Skewering horn
Of the true unicorn,
Raring for ravages,
Snaring in scrimmages.
Serpent has thin skin
But not Dürer’s rhino.
Damn.
I’ll never be Dürer’s rhino.
(Words by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, image by Albrecht Dürer.)