i. listen to yourself
ascribing a motive to nature
you say the wrong thing
you hear
half-buried in honey
as tall as a house
sniffing the air like a dog
body like a cat's
but this is no animal
a cuspid tooth being replaced by a myth
under the best bones you found smoke
there was a galaxy in the wilderness but
there isn't any left
just beasts in what little woods there are
ii. it's a beast without a body
chewing food in a defensive posture
holding hurt in his head
not a stitch of clothing on his human flesh
nothing to eat but lower mammals with garbage
he smelled like the devil
i saw something
iii. they found a body in the woods today yesterday
it was my flesh
i see it peeking through the woods
the way it moved just to spite me (like a cat)
animals who have no appetite for the devil or luck
you are already on somebody’s arm
or body part
or the chamber of motherhood
i’ll cover for you tiger
i swear off his name in order to survive
and never saw him alive again
radar
we were outside when it happened
beyond the copse of birch trees
above us down there
when faced with
teeth sharpened into tools
my weapon felt quick and graceful
i don’t remember the body
did i bump my head for gods sake