Poetry

Wild

/ Katrina Kaye

Katrina Kaye

Our hunger was
never so animal
as it was on
the Cold Moon,
never so bloody
as the first
of the month.

We salivated;

the slick of the bone,
the cut of tooth
on tenderloin.

Counted pulse beats
and tick of time,
dripped words
like weapons.

In a hurry,
panting and
pacing, a dog,
not of war,
but of conquest,
of revolution.

By winter we
didn’t have enough
meat on our bones
to gnaw against our gums.

We never really
learned how
to survive
off of more than
each other,

to scavenge feathers
falling soundless,
the ruffle of the lost.

It was our isolation
that buried white teeth
deep in the earth.

“Wild” is previously published in Marrow Magazine (2022) and Weasel Press (2022).

Mule

/ Katrina Kaye

Katrina Kaye

I am mule.

My bay, an obnoxious yap

from graying muzzle,

as I move from
under  master’s whip.

My velvet ears twitch

with distrust for the acts of man.

I will not be owned

and have grown impatient

with the repeated acts of

those who claim to know what’s best,
so I become obstinate

with mud to my knees

rebelling by standing still,
immovable in open
stall despite the whistle on the wind.

I want only a gentle hand, but deny

those offered me as though

their compassion was insult or pity.

No longer do I hold desire to plough forward,

but I long to preserve the moments

as they are gifted, one sunset, one thoughtful word,

one cube of sugar, one kindness at a time.

Hopefully, this perseverance

will lead me to dry pastures where only

the occasion fly distracts from

solitude and peace.

“Mule” is previously published in Saturday’s Sirens (2022).

Be Content

/ Katrina Kaye

Katrina Kaye

with sunlight
through kitchen window

the recorded
sounds of violins and wine
from a stemless glass
with a smudge
of lipstick on the rim

be not disappointed
with each gift
you have wrought

in an attempt to surrender
seclude to kitchen table
ask the weight on
shoulders to retire
enjoy a glass of red wine
and much needed solitude
let the music
move from neckline
to fingertips

as it always has
as it always will

understand every offering
at your fingertips
is hard earned
and the loneliness

that too

has been invited

“Be Content” is previously published in The Green Shoe Sanctuary (2022) and the chapbook No Longer Water (2024).