I Eat Poetry

There are wolf thickets.
There are culverts full of bears.
There are alpine hares
that were lost children.

Do not talk to strangers.
Do not cross the road.
Make a ring of fire.
Do not play with matches.

There are migrant birds
that shouldn't be here.
There are people listening.
There are ill considered
consequences. There are
no answers to your liking.

There are precautions
you can take. Switch off
the lights. Remove
sharp objects on entering
the liferaft. Suck fish eyes
to stave off thirst.

There are many things
that do not come alive
except in the small hours
before the day makes it.

Wolf thickets.
Half silences.
The distance
between lovers.

-Sandra Greaves