Scrub out mutated genes  

giving rise to mutated bodies, 

bodies we don’t want

circulating in our better society. 

Lewy minds and cancered lungs

float in history, twenty-first century 

deaths we’ve vaulted beyond. 

Are we ready? Start 

with the perfect embryo. 

Cells divide 

into an engineered self  

offering cognitive muscle 

and equidistant attractiveness. 

This will be our son. 

We’re no chickens.

Do you want college achievement 

or adaptable intelligence? A love 

for ghost peppers and ghost stories? 

Wisdom in alleyways?

Fluid improv on the jazz floor?  

In the reflection of a customer

picking a rooster to consume, 

we pick the pure blueprint   

promising sidewalk punch. 

Published in Swimming with Elephants Publications (May 2019)