Gathering

The first kouros grips a ram,
a weathered sacrifice.

His hair is tied with a Herculean knot.
Another was pulled from

the sea. Several from the mountain.
Upstairs, Aphrodite permanently

astride a dolphin, for now
in between lovers. The curator,

like all curators, is a collector.
The statues share a want

of being collected. Parts of statues
wait in a warehouse. They wait

as parts: legs, torsos, heads.
It is a process measured

in shovels of dirt.
They wait to be put together again.

One statue praises a dead hero,
thousands of others praise gods.

No matter. The curator remains
hungry for marble. The statues

need more time. The process
takes years. They will break

under the weight of what
it takes to find them.