here and now, i think about eating you alive.
i can’t unlearn the hunger. i nip at my heels
& don’t know how to stop. these fangs took
years to sculpt. most truths are rigored to
liminal things. animal warmth. a span of skin
scraped half-clean. the wet dog smell that
trails behind me like longing. forgive me for
trusting, all blind faith and no proof, that
you’d come back. in your absence, i forgot
how to be slack-jawed and gentle. instead,
i’ll pry every tooth out of my gums, canine
by canine, so they never sink into your flesh.
