I.

It is recorded that the Emperor classified the creatures of his kingdom in the following manner: a.) animals of 6 limbs or more, b.) animals of green coat, c.) nighttime creatures, d.) animals who scream like humans when killed, e.) luminescent beings, f.) parasites of the intestine, g.) parasites of the brain, h.) animals capable of space travel (of which only one has been found, recorded in the widely-discredited journal of M. z____harper on the evening he, inflamed by spirit, broke into the town observatory to project and image of himself on the stars -ed.), i.) animals of delicate constitution, j.) animals that move comfortably under the fingers, k.) leafy plants, l.) creatures whose ancestors breathed underwater, m.) foxes, n.) red-coated foxes.

II.

In the Emperor’s garden are collected the entities in his territories which are not animals, which are plants.  These include (in particular order): shovels, red-headed girls, turnips, worms, beetles, tulips, daffodils, aspen oaks, igneous rock, limestone, full toenails, and nail clippings.

It is planting season, and the daughter of the Emperor’s wife has died.  The earth against his hands is cool and dry, and against the spring sun he buries bulbs, mud, unlit cigarettes, grandmothers, houndstooth jackets and teeth, as if digging hundreds of tiny graves.

III.

There is a map, in an upper room of the palace, on a massive table, under torchlight and candlelight, of  the territories under the Emperor’s control and of the territories not under his control.  When a day is over, and the birds have roosted, the bids for power revealed and crushed, disputes settled, the Empress dutifully made love to, the Emperor lies on the table, spreading himself out onto all his land.  He contorts his limbs so nothing rests on what does not belong to him.  He dreams someday of spreading himself out, from end to end.

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