If You’re Going to Look Like a Wolf They Have to Love You More Than They Fear You.

The first deer had large teeth and no horns and
were not afraid.

The first deer did not have enough fear
for the men who needed them
to survive.

A woman decided to let the men eat
a grandmother decided her deer shall have horns
and be afraid
someone’s mother decided the men shall eat
and shall be feared.

*

A man thought wolves should be used
to cull the herd.

And we who had been catching water
dripping through stone
in the homes we dug
out of the earth
we licked our long teeth clean
    and set to work.

“If You’re Going to Look Like a Wolf They Have to Love You More Than They Fear You.” by Abigail Chabitnoy from In the Current Where Drowning Is Beautiful, forthcoming from Wesleyan University Press, 2022. Used with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Reflections