Statue of Mercury at the Museum of Fine Arts (After Rilke) by Zachary Del Nero
Statue of Mercury at the Museum of Fine Arts (After Rilke) by Zachary Del Nero
poetry
If we consider the body and consider it
broken, our eyes have done the breaking.
If we plan its restoration and dig for the legs,
if we stick metal rods into the hips framed
by phantom forearms reaching for no one
and for nothing, and if we find the sliced-off
top of the head (or its missing wing)
and declare it a match, we have forgotten
that he was never marble but air,
that he is the space stone occupied
and occupies, and that the cracks
or voids in our bodies are likewise
the source and conclusion of our presence.
Zachary Del Nero (he/him) is a Philadelphia-based creative working in digital media and design. His writing has appeared in 3Elements Literary Review and The Sun Magazine. His visual art explores how identity, technology, and cities intersect.
Jelly Squid - Issue 4: MENDING - January 2026