a strange animal
with marsupial pockets
hiding feathers and ash
a chimera of wings
and worn molars gnawing
I’ve seen it in gardens
climbing bean poles
a fibroid creature
of blood and hair
feral and housebroken
I can hear its webbed feet
slapping the linoleum
at night
I wake
in its mouth
Beth Suter is an MFA graduate from U.C. Davis and author of the chapbook Snake and Eggs (FLP). A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, her poems have appeared in Colorado Review, New American Writing, Barrow Street, DMQ Review, Birmingham Poetry Review, and others. Learn more at: bethsuter.com