i.
through rising water
through depth of sound
through time i
turned you
turned again
my hands were as wet and broken
as a cracked clockface
shattered on permafrost
the arctic fox
is apex in its solitude
but only
in its solitude
she turns subarctic islands
from grasslands
to tundra
ii.
as much as a young, curious beast
senses trouble
i kept myself wary of the wolf
whose palm was smooth with blisters
from fires she couldn’t hold
too much was the risk
of drawing near
to inspect the wound
to die the honorless
death of a small vulpine
between the jaws
of one so hungry
iii.
alas, i see
the dog is captive
and at her cage
i stare and i
press my flesh
against the bars
she howls at night
in her sleep
and wakes surrounded
by my scent
she tells me
this lock requires
a key of bone
to free her
i have broken myself in two
one rib is split
from its prison
iv.
lupine eyes
hold something primal
i am immune to nothing
v.
unlocked
my aching chest is
mostly woman
but her hard teeth find my
child’s heart
i find my hand, too
inside of her
against a pulse that also
speaks of youth
sings my name
ecstatic, am i
the rush of bleeding out
beneath a
grateful predator
holds me still
some sort of instinct, magic
and the ache
of electricity
she leaves me
she leaves me wet
she leaves me wet all over
vi.
special prey, am i
a dying fox
held now
though never against her matted fur
but against scarred flesh
her back and sides
the soft skin on
her knuckles
her fingers just barely
touching mine
i ached in ways
i could barely understand
i desired in ways
my heart
still remembers
i loved in endless waves
that have broken
on some
mythic shoreline
to which i can never return
