Monday, July 28, 2025

Prey

 

You were

fishing for me—

 

sliding your hand along

my dorsal and tail fins,

 

my dark olive hair,

my golden throat.

 

But you forgot

this bow

of sinew, cedar, and bone,

 

my Apache blood—

huntress, not game—

 

and this arrow which carries

your name.



© 2025 Jennifer Wagner

 

dVerse Q

 

7 comments:

  1. Oooh! I love the ending!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the hint of eroticism in your quadrille, Jennifer, and the way your poem turns on the ‘bow of sinew, cedar, and bone’. A perfect rebuff. Fisher beware.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jennifer, I feel totally caught by that final turn—"huntress, not game" hit me like an arrow. Such power in so few lines.

    Much love,
    David
    SkepticsKaddish.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my. I love your quadrille, it's complex and reels the reader in.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love your metaphor and surprise ending.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aha! Love the pivot here. So cleverly done.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your thoughts!