Selkie
       

I found my seal skin in a locked drawer. He kept the loaded gun by the back door. Wolves, he said. Men who wouldn't hesitate with a woman like me. For safety. What he meant was to know my place. What man ever saved me? I could taste salt in my mouth. Cormorants wheeled the shore. The pelt felt stiff. In the mirror my face a wax mask. My son already furring behind his ears. He slept in my arms. I drew the skin over my head. I locked the doors. I took my boy to the edge of the cliff. Swells broke. We leapt. Saltlight. Anemone. Limpets. I heard gunshots from the shore. Listen. Living takes such courage.

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Copyright © 2019 Sara Quinn Rivara All rights reserved
from Animal Bride
Tinderbox Editions
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission