Category: Poetry

I knew he was the wolf, of course – meek as a retriever

on his bony back, frilled nightcap taut between the peaks

of his ears, drooling at the yeasty smell of my basket. Those

are some big teeth. Thing is, I’d walked into trouble’s mouth

before.

I want to be that person

the one who gracefully gets out of a pool

and their wet hair looks like an Herbal Essences ad

or a beach photo shoot

A signature is like a floating head above the water What you see from the shore is enough to call help.

Don’t bring me near the cat

because you think you can fly away.

I’m nothing but a doll to you,

            but I have human skin and eyes,

One hour to pack all that I own in five suitcases.

Their leather peels like sun-burned skin to the touch. I am

away from home and yet my clothes, my shoes,

my books, the items I carry for luck, the pictures

of people I love are all at my side...

I cry out mayday in my mind

desperate to avoid the

inevitable reduction of your self

to just a name and a pained smile.