Beast Fables

we are all animals here—
the wily foxes on two legs, eating
at the dinner table. the crying
wolf’s tail caught in the mower.

the tiger in your sister’s volleyball
jersey becomes a flurry of blood, and here
is proximity. the animal in all
our skins. behind the glass—
in the gutters.

this is a lesson in fake dead
and real dead. in learning
all the lies. six cats mourning
the death of their brother.

you have a tea party in fur
and feathers. this is the storybook:
seeing your body turn to dust
in the glimmer of mirrors.

in his honest, twitching face, you
see what the rabbit really wants.
maybe you become the rabbit,
and then here we are again.

brute and human. shaved,
but still, waking up with hair
in our teeth.

By Sara Ryan