May 21, 1908

 

Spliced together early this morning, Frank,

the world’s first two-headed dog,

 

owes much to the scientific resourcefulness

of a Doctor Charles Claude Guthrie.

 

Guthrie says he implanted the newest edition

upside down, so the two could look at each other

 

and share intimacies only two heads can.

Frank lived for approximately seven hours.

 

Proof of life was the single tear produced by one head,

and the lapping of it by the other’s tongue.

 

Doctor Guthrie was shocked to later learn this experiment

would cost him the Nobel, said next time, he’d use purebreds.

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BRYANNA LICCIARDI has received her MFA in poetry and is currently pursuing a PhD in Literacy Studies. Her work appears in such journals as Poetry Quarterly, Blazevox, 491 Magazine, Dos Passos Review, Cleaver Magazine, and Adirondack Review. Please visit her website to learn more.