Costantini, Maria

Like Us

1. pigs form close bonds. Studies of pigs
2. say that they are the smartest animals
3. outside of primates. But, at six or seven,
4. outside the realm of E.B. White, all she
5. knew was anguish as she paced
6. back and forth in her parents’ bedroom,
7. from the small balcony to the large window
8. that faced an ancient oak tree, winding roots
9. bulging from the side of a bare cliff,
10. where she gathered acorns for the piglet
11. she called Botticello —meaning round
12. like a barrel. From there, she couldn’t see
13. the barnyard, but recognized his squeals of terror.
14.  
15. No one knew their secrets. No one had seen
16. her go down to the stall to let him out; how
17. the animal would follow her up the narrow incline
18. of packed dirt to the house, through the front door,
19. the hallway, to her bedroom armoire
20. with the full-length mirror, where he loved
21. to look at himself, grunting with pleasure.
22. No one saw him obey, Okay now, Botticello,
23. back to your stall. Or, how he savored
24. tiny boiled potatoes in their skins, roasted
25. chestnuts, and apples.
26.  
27. But, Of the pig nothing goes to waste.
28. From head to toe, the pig gave its all
29. to sustain the family in the lean winter months.
30. She remembered the spicy, seasoned delicacies,
31. the prosciutti her mother pressed
32. with abundant salt and pepper, hung
33. in a friend’s cool cellar to dry. Square bars
34. of laundry soap made from lard and ashes.
35.  
36. Hours passed and everything seemed still
37. in the late autumn afternoon. With small
38. careful steps down the incline, she reached
39. the massive barn-doors painted gray,
40. spread open, streaked with a watery pink.
41. She kept her gaze to the ground where
42. large buckets, grouped close together
43. on the cement floor, gathered droplets of red.