Hunter Prey

Hunter Prey
Dear Wolf, dear Pet,
I was told you were in there somewhere,
Curling in the hollow of overgrown meadows–
Tell me, Sweet thing, the insects
That make their home in the buds of flowers,
Do they sate you, Petal?
Tell me, Cold thing, does your fur do nothing?
Must I knit blankets for you?
Braid knots from the sinew of my muscles?
Weave cloth from the spaces between my bones?
I would, Innocence.
Trust me, Naive, I would.
Tell me where to find you first, though.
Whine sweetly into the night, Child.
I will bring you more insects if you want them.
Let me guide you away from the ruins–
Come forth from the shadows–
Stop hiding, Love.

Dear Wolf, dear Hunter,
You left a mess in your wake again,
Blood vessels full to bursting.
Tell me, Shadow, these remains,
These stains I find holding little resemblance,
What were they, Beast?
Tell me, Scorched thing, do you not eat thoroughly?
There are just enough remnants of memory
To remind me I am missing it, the smell,
The horror, the tenderness of thought.
It is cruel, Flame.
It makes a mockery, Ruin, of us both.
If you must eat me, Predator, eat me whole.
Snore violent with a belly full.
I starve to fill this void, too.
Let us eat together, you and I–
What have we become–
Stop running, Grief.

Dear wolf, dear
Wolf.
In the still waters of my subconscious,
In this respite where I stopped to drink,
I did not expect to find you.
You look so different,
Wolf.
From what I expected, I mean.
But the curve of your spine,
The curl at the corner your lip,
The twitch in your tired feet,
Wolf.
I recognize them.
In the still waters, when I look–
When I look
And do not turn away.

Dear Wolf, dear Me,
What an odd thing to have named you endless,
When I have only ever known myself singular.
Come now, Innocence– come now, Flame.
Hear me, Naive Ruin– listen, Scorched Child:
I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry.
I, Beast, have been hunting you, Petal,
And we have forgotten to admire the spaces of this body,
You and I can stop running now.
Hold gentle to the rib cage,
You and I come out of hiding.
Watch closely the lungs rise and fall,
This heart has chambers aplenty,
We have always had space.
You and I, sweet shadow.
You and I.