ABSTRACT
The words of the medical examiner read “the neck is remarkable for a ligature furrow” / & you are unwoven by the combination of these two words: ligature & furrow / because furrow describes a groove or rut in the ground / or in the surface of something / like tender skin / because a furrow is a depression dug out for seeding / how odd the furrowing set next to “ligature” which derives from the Latin ligare meaning to tie or bind / the word ligature is tough & flexible / like the larynx / it holds the state of being bound or stiffened / like the body in solitary confinement / like the body in rigor mortis in solitary confinement / it moves beyond the act of binding to capture the thing that performs the act of binding / like a cord / or a similar something / like a plastic bag / but it is also the thread used in surgery to close a vessel / or remove a tumor / & you think about how the body is a vessel / & how she had no tumors / how the trachea is an instrument moving currents of air into & out of lungs / how in music a ligature is both the group of notes played as a phrase & the curved line that indicates such a phrase / how remarkable is the spine which is line & curve & holding up all you have ever loved / a single harmonic texture / & you are reminded of how language folds into itself / because the word ligature indicates suspension of intellectual or physical power / leaves no room for miscarriage or epilepsy or prayer / not to mention how in typography the ligature is a character that combines multiple letters / like the æ in vertebræ / & so many common words once contained space enough for small couplings / words like economy & hemorrhage & tragedy & fetus & federal / & you wonder if Sandra knew that bound up in her furrowing was a history of how easily the body rends.
