of the northern white rhinoceros

i leave you this: a parting gift of ivory,

and task you make for me an urn

fit to hold the ash. carve it with unicorns

and aurochs, mastodons and my woolly-haired

compatriots. set it with ammonites and amber;

stand me upon the shoulders of great pearl

elephants and play me out of kenya on

antique piano keys.

this was meant to be easy, just close my eyes and drift,

but didn’t some of you make it so hard?

make me a myth: tell them a hundred warriors

could not slay sudan the great; say i slumbered

upon mountains of diamonds; claim one tear

could heal, or a drop of blood might raise the dead.

i go to palaeontology. i’ll tread softly through

the dreams of children, let their open palms

smooth over grey, wrinkled flesh

and grant for them a wish.

for them i’ll always be a story.

for them i’ll never need exist.

Amy Kinsman (they/them) is a genderfluid poet from Manchester, England. As well as being founding editor of Riggwelter Press and associate editor of Three Drops From A Cauldron, they are also the host of a regular poetry open mic. Their debut pamphlet & was joint winner of the Indigo Dreams Pamphlet Prize 2017.