On my favorite animal:
I can measure the time since I’ve last felt her breath on my neck
By the angle at which I carry myself through this world
Standing taller
Straighter
I am older
And wiser
Than the last time she was released
The low rumble of a chuckle
Accompanied by the acrid smell of sulfur and burning hair
Scars and teeth and eyes black
Not empty
But bottomless
Endless
Something primal inside me
Made separate to keep those I love
Safe
In between the spaces that punctuate all of the sentences
I swore were love
But were merely
Men
We both know why she’s here
Where I once trembled in her presence
I now collapse into relief
He’s hers now
He read the signs
“Beware of dog”
“Venemous”
“Biohazard”
And still decided to unlock the cage
She’s starving
A ritualistic fast
Broken
By the consumption of his very soul
I’ve whispered to her
The exact coordinates
To his heart
God save him
Because I’m done trying